Experiences with family planning and abortion services during the Covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative study in Bangladesh, Iran and Netherlands

Abstract Objective Access to family planning services is a human right that plays an essential role in society's health, particularly women’s health. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of human life including access to family planning services. Accordingly, the main goal of this study was to explore the experiences of women and service providers from the main challenges and obstacles of access to family planning services and abortion services in Bangladesh, Iran, and the Netherlands during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods In this qualitative study, the data were collected through onl... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Khadijeh Asadisarvestani
Myrrith Hulsbergen
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2024
Reihe/Periodikum: BMC Public Health, Vol 24, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2024)
Verlag/Hrsg.: BMC
Schlagwörter: Family planning / Contraception / Abortion / Reproductive health / Sexual health / COVID-19 / Public aspects of medicine / RA1-1270
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26801638
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17414-9

Abstract Objective Access to family planning services is a human right that plays an essential role in society's health, particularly women’s health. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of human life including access to family planning services. Accordingly, the main goal of this study was to explore the experiences of women and service providers from the main challenges and obstacles of access to family planning services and abortion services in Bangladesh, Iran, and the Netherlands during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods In this qualitative study, the data were collected through online, telephone, or in-person semi-structured interviews with key informants. Participants selected by purposive sampling method. The participants included women aged 15 to 49 (n = 63) and service providers (n = 54) in the 3 abovementioned countries. These individuals were included from October 2020 until December 2020. Conventional thematic analysis was employed to analyze the collected data. Results The main extracted themes were challenges (reduction of referral; disruption of access to services; insufficient knowledge; worries among staff; rising prices; and unavailability of some contraceptives), measures (time extension and visit scheduling; telephone, online, and door to door services; and support of the media) and recommendations (health facility improvements; free, online, and closer services; and ongoing trainings and awareness campaigns). Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic has affected family planning and reproductive health services in different ways and has uncovered existing inequalities in access to these services. However, in Iran, the reported challenges were also rooted in new population policies that have further limited access to family planning and abortion services.