Abstract
BackgroundFemale-headed households are one of the most vulnerable groups of society that confront many problems and challenges. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the challenges and opportunities confronting female-headed households in Iran.MethodsThis qualitative study was conducted among female-headed households in Kermanshah, West of Iran, in 2019. The data were collected through Semi-structured interviews with 26 female-headed households who were selected by purposeful and theoretical sampling. Data analysis was done through conventional qualitative content analysis, and the software MAXQDA-12 was used for the management of data. The four criteria of Goba and Lincon, including credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability, were observed to evaluate the quality of research results.ResultsAfter analyzing the data, 4 main categories and 13 subcategories were obtained as follows: individual problems (role overload, role conflict, end of love, psychological problems), intra-family problems (declined independence, intra-family tension, poverty reproduction and family disability), social problems (stigma of being unattended, social insecurity, social isolation, social exclusion), positive outcomes (positive self-concept, social maturity).ConclusionFemale-headed households face many challenges that can become a big threat or an opportunity. Therefore, their health improvement can be achieved through training and helping them to adapt to new and multifaceted roles, providing more economic support and helping them raise their social status.
Highlights
Female-headed households are one of the most vulnerable groups of society that confront many problems and challenges
The present study was conducted with the participation of 26 female-headed households in Kermanshah province
Previous research has not looked at female-headed households as an opportunity so far, and this study for the first time this study reveals the opportunities created by taking on the head of the household role
Summary
Female-headed households are one of the most vulnerable groups of society that confront many problems and challenges. The present study aimed to explore the challenges and opportunities confronting female-headed households in Iran. The number of female-headed households has increased dramatically in the recent half-century, especially in developing countries [6], due to divorce, spouse death, addiction or disability of husband, increased life expectancy among women, migration, or being abandoned by husband [7, 8]. In Namibia in 2013 the rate was 43.90% and in 2015 in Zimbabwe 40.60% of households had female heads. In Iran, there is a growing number of formal single-parent households headed by women [10]. In 2006, the proportion of female-headed households was 9.5%, in 2011 the proportion was 12.1%, and it reached 12.7% in 2016 when there were 3,061,753 female-headed households in Iran [4]
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