challenges of divorced women: a qualitative study

background & aim : the health of women, as half of the world’s population and the foundation of families and societies, has played a significant role in securing and stabilizing of the health of families and societies. the increasing rate of divorce in iran caused us to perform this study aimed to explore the challenges of divorced women. methods & materials : this was a qualitative study which was carried out through in-depth semistructured interviews with 12 divorced women whose divorce decree was issued in the family court of shahrood, iran, at least one year ago. participants were selected purposefully and the data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. results : the results of the study revealed the 4 following themes of health meaning from divorced women's experiences, causes of divorce, divorced women's problems, and divorced women's expectations from the society and authorities. conclusion : adverse consequences of divorce on women's health including physical, mental and venereal diseases, and other serious social problems should be considered as the main and most important priority of the country by the authorities. paying attention to the major and underlying grounds of divorce, also the most important problems of youth of the country, including addiction, superficiality, negligence of basic criteria in marriage, and infidelity, can be helpful in solving the problem of divorce.