Exploring the experiences of women with pelvic floor disorders with received medical services: a qualitative study

Background & Aim:Despite the high prevalence of the problem in the society, people with pelvic floor disorders are less likely to seek medical services. Various studies stated that one of the important problems in providing medical services to people with pelvic floor disorders is not paying attention to their preferences and expectations. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of exploring the experiences of women with pelvic floor disorders with received medical services. Methods:The present study was conducted by the conventional qualitative content analysis approach of Graneheim and Lundman on 24 women with pelvic floor disorders. The participants were selected with maximum diversity in a purposeful manner, taking into account the entry criteria, Data collection was done with semi-structured in-depth interviews and continued until data saturation.The interviews were digitally recorded and then coded in MAXQDA10software. Analysis of data is done simultaneously with the collection of information. Results: After categorizing and coding the data, one main themes named "weakness of the treatment system in disorder management" were extracted.This category has eight sub-categories including insufficient educational services to relieve symptoms, disregarding the rights of clients, the inability of the system to gain people's trust, lack of proper insurance coverage, imposing financial burden on the family. Conclusion:There are weaknesses in the treatment system for pelvic floor disorders, which can be a reason for not using the services optimally. It is necessary to plan for people with pelvic floor disorders in such a way getting more insurance support and comprehensive training.