Abstract
Background: Norway has one of the best health systems in the world. However, it has a low birth rate, which decreased by 21.2% between 2009 and 2018, and one of the highest rates of infertility prevalence. The aim of this study is to understand how Norwegian doctors perceive female infertility diseases, namely those that are more difficult to diagnose and to treat, and that are more common in their practice. Method: Descriptive qualitative study was conducted with gynecologists and general practitioners. The sample resulted from the establishment of five criteria and on the doctors’ acceptance to participate in this study. Our sample comprised thirteen highly qualified and experienced doctors. Qualitative content analysis was the method chosen to analyze the collected data. Results: Clinical diseases (polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis and vulvodynia) and consequences of these diseases were the pinpointed themes. These led to a set of sub-themes: the main symptoms and the treatment of the diseases, from the perspective of both women and doctors (stigmatization, disturbances in women’s daily life, diagnostic delay, and governmental support). Conclusions: The three most relevant disorders mentioned were polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis and vulvodynia. These diseases cause several impacts on the lives of women, because they feel stigmatized and limited in their daily life and sexuality, and the diagnosis of these diseases takes too much time. Governments should better redistribute the financing of women’s health and allocate resources to specialized centers.
Highlights
Over the last few decades new priorities in public health have led to improvements on the study of women’s health, enlarging the approach to include sexual and reproductive health
A major study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), comprising 8500 couples from 25 countries, concluded that the specific causes of infertility in women were mainly due to ovulatory disorders, endometriosis, pelvic adhesions, tubal blockage, other abnormalities, and hyperprolactinemia [4]
The main goal of this paper is to comprehend Norwegian physicians’ perceptions of female infertility diseases, namely those that are more difficult to diagnose and to treat, and that are more common in their practice
Summary
Over the last few decades new priorities in public health have led to improvements on the study of women’s health, enlarging the approach to include sexual and reproductive health. A major study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), comprising 8500 couples from 25 countries, concluded that the specific causes of infertility in women were mainly due to ovulatory disorders, endometriosis, pelvic adhesions, tubal blockage, other abnormalities, and hyperprolactinemia [4]. Some of these problems were amplified by the continuous postponing of the average age of pregnancy, and by some changes in women sexual behavior (e.g., number of sex partners, higher incidence of sexually transmitted diseases) [5]. Governments should better redistribute the financing of women’s health and allocate resources to specialized centers
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