Challenges of Premarital Education Program in Iran

Introduction: Divorce, unwanted pregnancies and failed marriages inflict severe mental, emotional, physical and financial damages on individuals, families and the community. Meanwhile, premarital education programs are considered one of the effective factors to prevent such problems. Objective: The present study aimed to determine challenges of premarital education program in Iran. Materials and Methods: This systematic review was conducted by searching the PubMed, Elsevier, Magiran, IranMedex, SID Irandoc, Medlib, and Google scholar databases in order to find papers in Farsi and English with the keywords of couples, training, consultation, premarital, Iran, health program, preparation for marriage, educational needs, and divorce. We reviewed different case-control, descriptive, and descriptive-analytical studies on premarital education. Of the 28 published papers on premarital education, 17 articles met the inclusion criteria. Results: Factors and challenges associated with premarital education can be divided into two main categories: policy making challenges and operational challenges. Conclusion: The results showed that marrying couples need the knowledge and skills that are not provided in the current premarital education. Complete execution of premarital education in Iran is possible only in the light of awareness, sufficient resources, considering the needs of the target group, and the presence of an accountable system