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 Jul 31;28(7):61-70. doi: 10.29063/ajrh2024/v28i7.7.
Infertility has a significant impact on the lives of women. Therefore, affected women often consider the treatment options available to deal with their condition, including traditional healthcare services (THS). The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of women with infertility problems who sought help from traditional health practitioners in Harare, Zimbabwe. Data from interviews with five women with infertility was explicated using a simplified version of Hycner (1985) five step explication process. Two major themes and eight sub themes emerged from the findings. The major themes were traditional diagnosis experiences and traditional treatment experiences. Consultation and divination were the diagnosis methods experienced by the women with infertility. The THS offered comprehensive management of infertility through couples therapy, as well as pre- and post-natal therapies, which include lifestyle counselling. The findings also showed that women with infertility commonly receive concurrent treatment, including both allopathic and traditional medicine. This presents an opportunity to explore the convergence of traditional and allopathic approaches in the management of infertility in women.
不孕对女性的生活有重大影响。因此，受影响的女性通常会考虑可用于治疗其病情的治疗方案，包括传统医疗服务（THS）。本现象学研究的目的是探讨在津巴布韦哈拉雷寻求传统健康从业者帮助的不孕问题女性的生活体验。使用 Hycner（1985）简化的五步阐释过程对来自五名不孕女性的访谈数据进行了阐释。研究结果中出现了两个主要主题和八个子主题。主要主题是传统的诊断经验和传统的治疗经验。咨询和占卜是这些不孕女性所经历的诊断方法。THS 通过夫妻治疗以及产前和产后治疗（包括生活方式咨询）为不孕提供了全面的管理。研究结果还表明，不孕女性通常会同时接受治疗，包括顺势疗法和传统医学。这为探索传统和顺势疗法方法在女性不孕管理中的融合提供了机会。
