Gure Faduma, Yusuf Marian, Foster Angel M
Former graduate student, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, ON Canada.
Dean, Faculty of Law, Somali National University, Somalia; Director, Coalition for Grassroots Women Organization, Somalia.
Reprod Health Matters. 2015 Nov;23(46):136-44. doi: 10.1016/j.rhm.2015.11.018. Epub 2015 Dec 11.
With a total fertility ratio of 6.7 children per woman, a maternal mortality ratio over 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births, high rates of sexual and gender-based violence, and the lowest contraceptive prevalence rate in the world, women's reproductive health indices in Somalia prove alarming. The voices of women living in Somalia have long been neglected and we undertook this qualitative study to explore women's reproductive health knowledge and experiences. In 2014, we conducted four focus group discussions with 21 married and unmarried women of reproductive age living in Mogadishu, Somalia. Discussions took place in Somali and we used a constant comparative approach to analyse the discussions for content and themes. Our findings reveal that misinformation, restrictive policies, mistrust of clinicians, and prohibitively expensive services shape women's experiences and health-seeking behaviours. Women identified the need for culturally resonant reproductive health information and services as a significant priority. As Somalia begins to emerge from over two decades of civil war, it is imperative that comprehensive reproductive health issues are included on the national agenda and that women's perspectives are incorporated into future policies and interventions.
索马里妇女的生育健康指数令人担忧，每名妇女的总生育率为6.7个孩子，孕产妇死亡率超过每10万例活产1000例死亡，性暴力和基于性别的暴力发生率很高，避孕普及率是世界上最低的。索马里妇女的声音长期以来一直被忽视，我们开展了这项定性研究，以探索妇女的生殖健康知识和经历。2014年，我们与居住在索马里摩加迪沙的21名育龄已婚和未婚妇女进行了四次焦点小组讨论。讨论用索马里语进行，我们采用持续比较法分析讨论内容和主题。我们的研究结果表明，错误信息、限制性政策、对临床医生的不信任以及极其昂贵的服务塑造了妇女的经历和寻求医疗服务的行为。妇女们认为，提供具有文化共鸣的生殖健康信息和服务是一项重大优先事项。随着索马里开始走出长达二十多年的内战，将全面的生殖健康问题纳入国家议程，并将妇女的观点纳入未来的政策和干预措施中势在必行。
