Sexual Health Care Utilization in Married Middle Aged Women; A Cross-Sectional Study

Sexual health is important in life course, but major researches and health programs are focused on reproductive age. This study aimed to assess sexual health care utilization in married middle aged women.
A cross-sectional study was done on 326 middle-aged women (40 to 65 years old) in 2016 in Gorgan City, Iran, using Quota sampling. Data were gathered using researcher-made valid and reliable questionnaire including three parts of demographic and sexual health care, source of information, and place for sexual health help-seeking. Data were analyzed using descriptive, parametric, and nonparametric statistic tests via SPSS software at the significant level of PFindings: 46.9% of subjects did not have any clinical breast exam. 43.9% of them did not have Pap smear even every 5 years. 41.1% were referred to health centers for their sexual problems. 22.1% never asked their sexual problems from health care providers. The most important sexual health information sources were female health care providers (60%), books/magazines (32.8%), and friends (19.8%). Some demographic and reproductive characteristics were related to sexual health care score (P Sexual health status and utilization of sexual healthcare services in middle-aged women is not suitable and needs more attention. Conducting qualitative studies in order to deep evaluation of barriers and facilitating factors in a context-based approach is suggested.