Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 student
2 Allame Tabatabaei University
3 department of social work, Allame Tabatabae' Uuniversity
Abstract
Cancer is a distressing and difficult experience for women. Despite the numerous challenges posed by this disease, especially for married women, few studies have examined these challenges. The present study was conducted with the aim of explaining the challenges experienced by women with female cancers, using a qualitative method and thematic analysis technique. The study began in December 1402 and data collection and study lasted until June 1403. Purposeful sampling was conducted on 24 married women with female cancers living in Qom; participants were aged 20 to 65 years.
In total, 9 main categories and 33 sub-themes were identified, and the final theme of “multifaceted dysfunction” was extracted as a summary of the participants’ lived experiences. The main themes in the first stage were the initial painful encounter with the disease; In the treatment phase, the threat to the role of wife, mental turmoil, emotional vulnerability, decreased family support, structured limitation of services, quality of service provided by the medical staff; and in the post-treatment phase, the threat to the role of wife-motherhood, psychological and material anxiety of the disease returning. The results showed that married women with female cancers face various challenges from the moment they are informed of the disease until after treatment. Understanding these challenges can provide a proper understanding of the issues of this group of women at each stage so that specialists, in addition to medical treatments, can design more effective and comprehensive assistance programs to improve their health status in all aspects.
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