Rostomian Lara, Kliethermes Christopher John, Hemmerling Anke
Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Womens Health Rep (New Rochelle). 2024 Apr 26;5(1):376-384. doi: 10.1089/whr.2024.0005. eCollection 2024.
In many Transcaucasian and Middle Eastern populations, research in women's sexual and reproductive health remains limited, especially in Armenia despite recent political and cultural changes. This study explores the current state of family planning in Armenia while both highlighting the recent progress and identifying current barriers to reproductive health.
We conducted a mixed-methods study using both a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews with women and key informants in the field of women's sexual and reproductive health.
Armenian women are familiar with many types of contraception. The use of modern methods has increased but remains low. Sexual education for women is uncommon and often sought through independent online searches or books. We found no significant access barriers, however, a prevailing distrust in hormonal contraceptive methods left many women to rely on condoms and withdrawal. Although the majority of surveyed women (72%) believed having access to safe abortions was an important right, only 42% would consider having an abortion in the case of an unintended pregnancy. Interviewees highlighted the lack of sexual education, discrepancies in sexual and reproductive services between rural provinces and the urban capital city of Yerevan, as well as the need for information and the government's responsibility in this field.
The lack of comprehensive sexual education in Armenia fuels misinformation regarding family planning options. One option we recommend is a government-funded sexual education program which begins as culturally sensitive, sex-positive education in schools and continues with counseling and support for women within the health care system.
在许多外高加索和中东人群中，关于女性性健康和生殖健康的研究仍然有限，尤其是在亚美尼亚，尽管最近政治和文化发生了变化。本研究探讨了亚美尼亚计划生育的现状，既突出了近期的进展，也确定了当前生殖健康面临的障碍。
我们采用了混合方法研究，对女性性健康和生殖健康领域的女性及关键信息提供者进行了定量调查和定性访谈。
亚美尼亚女性熟悉多种避孕方式。现代避孕方法的使用有所增加，但仍然较低。针对女性的性教育并不常见，她们往往通过独立的在线搜索或书籍来寻求相关知识。我们发现不存在重大的获取障碍，然而，对激素避孕方法普遍存在的不信任使许多女性依赖避孕套和体外射精。尽管大多数接受调查的女性（72%）认为能够获得安全堕胎是一项重要权利，但只有42%的女性会考虑在意外怀孕时选择堕胎。受访者强调了性教育的缺乏、农村省份与首都埃里温之间性健康和生殖健康服务的差异，以及对信息的需求和政府在这一领域的责任。
亚美尼亚缺乏全面的性教育，导致了关于计划生育选择的错误信息。我们建议的一个方案是由政府资助的性教育项目，该项目首先在学校开展具有文化敏感性、积极看待性的教育，并在医疗保健系统内继续为女性提供咨询和支持。
