Psychosocial aspects of women’s reproductive health-related issues around the world

Abstract

Aim: This symposium highlights the importance of studying how women cope with and regulate different reproductive health matters, within their sociocultural context. We wish to present how women’s cultural background and personal dispositions affect the way they deal with these health issues and show how different complementary research methods help better understand women’s perceptions, emotions and choices regarding their and their daughters’ reproductive health. Rationale: Reproductive health matters such as infertility, cervical cancer and childbirth concern women across the globe. The decision-making processes and their subjective experience of these matters could affect their physical and emotional health in the short and long term. These issues could have significant social, financial, policy making implications and lead to health disparities. Summary: Growing evidence suggests that a special focus on women’s health psychology is needed. In addition to differences in general health issues, women deal with challenges emerging from the specifics of their bodies and the construction of their gendered social roles. The symposium will present five studies that demonstrate how the sociocultural and personal levels relate to the way women cope with reproductive health matters. The first study used focus groups of Malaysian mothers to better understand what could help promote use of the HPV vaccine. The second study used quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore Romanian women’s perceptions related to participation in cervical cancer prevention programs. The third study was a quantitative longitudinal study that researched how normalization helps Israeli women undergoing infertility treatments maintain their quality of life. The fourth study used qualitative techniques to analyze discourses around new reproductive technologies in online Bulgarian sources. The fifth study was a quantitative prospective study that explored how basic beliefs about childbirth and fear of childbirth relate to planned and unplanned modes of delivery in Israeli parturients.