Department of Global Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe.
Department of Laboratory Diagnostic and Investigative Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe.
Afr J Reprod Health. 2024 Jun 30;28(6):25-38. doi: 10.29063/ajrh2024/v28i6.3.
This study focused on the psychological, social, and cultural dimensions of infertility among women with infertility in Harare Urban who have utilised traditional healthcare systems to address their infertility problem. It also emphasises their coping strategies for dealing with the challenges encountered along the infertile journey. This was a qualitative study using a phenomenological approach, focusing on the experiences of five women. Data from the interviews was analysed using a simplified version of Hycner's (1985) five-step explication process. The study produced three main themes: psychological experiences, socio-cultural experiences, and coping experiences, along with seven sub-themes. The results showed that women experienced intense distress, sorrow, and self-blame because of their inability to have children, further compounded by the stigma they faced from their families and communities. Women with infertility are subjected to derogatory labels, social contempt, ridicule, and being undervalued, which leads them to develop coping strategies to endure the adverse encounters. These coping mechanisms can have either positive or negative effects on their overall welfare. The exploration of psychological, socio-cultural factors, and coping mechanisms of women with infertility problems' presents a chance to co-create interventions that empower them.
本研究关注哈拉雷城市中不孕女性的心理、社会和文化维度，她们利用传统医疗体系来解决不孕问题。它还强调了她们应对不孕旅程中遇到的挑战的应对策略。这是一项使用现象学方法的定性研究，关注五位女性的经历。通过简化 Hycner（1985）的五步解释过程对访谈数据进行分析。研究产生了三个主要主题：心理体验、社会文化体验和应对体验，以及七个子主题。研究结果表明，由于无法生育，女性经历了强烈的痛苦、悲伤和自责，而且她们还面临着来自家庭和社区的污名化。不孕女性会被贴上贬义词、受到社会歧视、嘲笑和被低估，这使她们不得不发展应对策略来忍受这些不利的遭遇。这些应对机制可能对她们的整体福利产生积极或消极的影响。探索不孕问题女性的心理、社会文化因素和应对机制为共同创造赋权干预措施提供了机会。
