Reproductive Health Needs Assessment in the View of Iranian Elderly Women and Elderly Men

To assess reproductive health needs in men and women as the first and basic step in educational planning. The study was qualitative. Participants were Postmenopausal women and men over 60 years. Data gathering was done by semi structured interviews. Analysis of the qualitative data was conducted during a multi-step process according to the assessment method of Altschuld et al needs analysis. Two general themes were considered in categorizing codes extracted from interviews: 1) Problems, 2) Demands. Women’s reproductive health problems were Problems associated with menopause, Related to family planning, sexual problems, and diseases and cancers. Reproductive health problems in men were in two main subthemes Urinary-reproductive problems and sexual dysfunction. Their main demand was for establishing a health center for geriatric reproductive health. Aging has severe effect on men’s and women’s reproductive health and elderly peoples need health services to cope with changes, therefore these needs should be considered in medical curriculums.