Dataset Information

Gendered lived experiences of marriage and family following exposure to chemical warfare agents: content analysis of qualitative interviews with survivors in Halabja, Kurdistan-Iraq.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:To study gendered experiences of the long-term effects of a chemical warfare agent (CWA; sulfur mustard). DESIGN:Qualitative face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interview study using content analysis approach with thematic analysis and anthropological inquiries. SETTING:The city of Halabja in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. PARTICIPANTS:Survivors of CWA (n=16, female:male 10:6, mean age 45.5 years (range 34 to 67)) with lung damage diagnosis and with a range of sociodemographic variables. RESULTS:Latent content was expressed as: To get or not to get married? Two categories-social abandonment and uncertain marriage-emerged as expressions of the manifest content. The majority of the participants showed uncertainty as a central concern that affects all decision-making in their private and social life. Uncertainty over marriage and family were huge, corresponding to their fear of giving birth to children with congenital birth defects. Exposure to CWAs was conceptualised in terms of stigmatised illnesses, and consequently resulted in loneliness and social isolation, leading to negative impacts on other aspects of professional and social life. The results demonstrated a gendered pattern: CWA-exposed women were more affected psychosocially than CWA-exposed men. More CWA-exposed women were unemployed, divorced or single, or lived under vulnerable circumstances compared with men. CONCLUSION:Survivors of CWA exposure have developed a sense of gendered uncertainty around getting married and building a family. Sulfur mustard-exposed women, in particular, long to be desired in the community as they face social exclusion. Survivors should be provided evidence-based consultancy to optimise their decision-making around marriage and other social and family challenges.

SUBMITTER: Moradi F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7559057 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Gendered lived experiences of marriage and family following exposure to chemical warfare agents: content analysis of qualitative interviews with survivors in Halabja, Kurdistan-Iraq.

Moradi Faraidoun F Moradi Fazil F Söderberg Mia M Olin Anna-Carin AC Lärstad Mona M

BMJ open 20201014 10

<h4>Objective</h4>To study gendered experiences of the long-term effects of a chemical warfare agent (CWA; sulfur mustard).<h4>Design</h4>Qualitative face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interview study using content analysis approach with thematic analysis and anthropological inquiries.<h4>Setting</h4>The city of Halabja in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.<h4>Participants</h4>Survivors of CWA (n=16, female:male 10:6, mean age 45.5 years (range 34 to 67)) with lung damage diagnosis and with a rang ...[more]

PMID: 33055109

Similar Datasets

Project description:Experiencing systematic violence and trauma increases the risk of poor mental health outcomes; few interventions for these types of exposures have been evaluated in low resource contexts. The objective of this randomized controlled trial was to assess the effectiveness of two psychotherapeutic interventions, Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), in reducing depression symptoms using a locally adapted and validated version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist and dysfunction measured with a locally developed scale. Secondary outcomes included posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and traumatic grief symptoms.Twenty community mental health workers, working in rural health clinics, were randomly assigned to training in one of the two interventions. The community mental health workers conducted baseline assessments, enrolled survivors of systematic violence based on severity of depression symptoms, and randomly assigned them to treatment or waitlist-control. Blinded community mental health workers conducted post-intervention assessments on average five months later.Adult survivors of systematic violence were screened (N?=?732) with 281 enrolled in the trial; 215 randomized to an intervention (114 to BATD; 101 to CPT) and 66 to waitlist-control (33 to BATD; 33 to CPT). Nearly 70% (n?=?149) of the intervention participants completed treatment and post-intervention assessments; 53 (80%) waitlist-controls completed post-intervention assessments. Estimated effect sizes for depression and dysfunction were 0.60 and 0.55 respectively, comparing BATD participants to all controls and 0.84 and 0.79 respectively, compared to BATD controls only. Estimated effect sizes for depression and dysfunction were 0.70 and 0.90 respectively comparing CPT participants to all controls and 0.44 and 0.63 respectively compared to CPT controls only. Using a permutation-based hypothesis test that is robust to the model assumptions implicit in regression models, BATD had significant effects on depression (p?=?.003) and dysfunction (p?=?.007), while CPT had a significant effect on dysfunction only (p?=?.004).Both interventions showed moderate to strong effects on most outcomes. This study demonstrates effectiveness of these interventions in low resource environments by mental health workers with limited prior experience.ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT00925262 . Registered June 3, 2009.

Project description:Unsafe abortion is a major contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality in countries where induced abortion is restricted. In Kurdistan Region of Iraq, induced abortion is strictly forbidden except for life-threatening situations, increasing the risk of seeking unsafe abortions. Attitudes among healthcare professionals who directly encounter cases and consequences of induced abortion can be studied to improve women's access to safe abortion. This study aimed to examine attitudes towards induced abortion among gynecologists in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This cross-sectional facility-based study was conducted in the first quarter of 2022 in Kurdistan Region of Iraq in the cities of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Duhok. Convenient sampling was used to invite 330 gynecologists to participate, with 171 ultimately completing the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 53%. Questionaries using the Taylor and Whitehead abortion attitude scale were sent in person or digitally. The data was then analyzed using Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests to determine the independence of attitudes and associations between attitudes and sociodemographic factors. Among 171 gynecologists, 25% of the gynecologists agreed that induced abortion is unacceptable under any circumstances. Most (71%) disagreed that a woman has the right to choose to have an induced abortion. Around 51% considered induced abortion murder, and 41% agreed that induced abortion goes against all morals. Around 57% disagreed with the legalization of induced abortion, while 43% agreed. Gynecologists who were unmarried (P = 0.025), under the age of 40 (P = 0.044), and with less than 10 years of clinical experience (P = 0.043) were more likely to support the legalization of induced abortion in Kurdistan Region. None of the variables was found to be independently associated with attitudes towards abortion legalization. Despite some younger gynecologists having more favorable attitudes towards induced abortion, most gynecologists in Kurdistan Region had less favorable views. Most gynecologists were willing to provide post-abortion care regardless of their legal status. We recommend conducting more studies to investigate the consequences of current abortion legislation among women in need of induced abortion in Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Dataset Information

Gendered lived experiences of marriage and family following exposure to chemical warfare agents: content analysis of qualitative interviews with survivors in Halabja, Kurdistan-Iraq.

Publications

Gendered lived experiences of marriage and family following exposure to chemical warfare agents: content analysis of qualitative interviews with survivors in Halabja, Kurdistan-Iraq.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets