In this transnational study, we aimed at providing insights into women's views and attitudes towards their reproductive rights during the Zika epidemic. Women of distinct nationalities and ethnicities were recruited from various locations in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the United States. We conducted semistructured interviews that suggest that participants reproductive decisions were intimately related to personal convictions and cultural beliefs, and their actions and thoughts were embedded in their sociocultural norms. The majority of women interviewed communicated that it takes courage to make the extreme, emotional, and overwhelming decision to have an abortion. The findings of this study suggest that women from different countries and regions, and with different levels of social capital, faced the same conflicts concerning reproductive decisions. Thus, we argue for the importance of considering cultural beliefs and behaviors when implementing health prevention or protection measures to control epidemics. This epidemic may be yet another opportunity for the improvement of women's health by strengthening culturally sensitive family planning services, and a broad spectrum of public health interventions. Why was this study done?We aimed at providing insights into women's views and attitudes towards their reproductive rights, and at exposing the psychosocial and cultural factors affecting women during the times of Zika. We focused on the reproductive choices of women indirectly affected by the disease, because to our knowledge the literature on the Zika epidemic concentrates on the impact of the disease on women who delivered babies with microcephaly. What did the researches do and find?We interviewed women from various locations in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the United States and of distinct nationalities and ethnicities. They indicated that their reproductive decisions were intimately related to personal convictions and cultural beliefs, and their actions and thoughts were embedded in their sociocultural norms. The majority of women interviewed communicated that it takes courage to make the decision to have an abortion. What do these findings mean?The findings of this study suggest that women from different countries and regions, and with different levels of social capital, faced the same conflicts concerning reproductive decisions. Thus, we argue for the importance of considering cultural beliefs and behaviors when implementing health prevention or protection measures to control epidemics.
Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of congenital brain abnormalities. Its consequences for pregnancies have made governments and both national and international agencies issue advice and recommendations to women. This study was designed to understand the impacts of Zika on women who were less directly affected and less vulnerable to Zika. Women were recruited from various locations in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Women perceived that public health systems placed an unfair responsibility for preventing health complications from Zika onto women who had limited ability to do so. They also stated that the measures recommended to them were invasive, while creating the perception that women were the sole determinant of whether they contracted Zika. The results indicate that women with higher levels of education understood the limitations of the information, government actions, and medical care they received, which ended up producing higher levels of anguish and worry. Gender inequality and discrimination must be recognized and rendered visible in the public health emergency response. The social effects of the epidemic affected women more than had been thought before and at deeper emotional levels.
Background and Objectives Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of congenital brain abnormalities. Its consequences to pregnancies have made governments, national and international agencies issue advice and recommendations to women. This study was designed to develop an initial understanding of the impacts of Zika on women of reproductive age who lived in areas with or without local transmission. The impacts on women who were less directly affected and less vulnerable to Zika were analyzed. The hypothesis was that all women were impacted by the epidemic. Methods A qualitative study was carried out. Women were recruited through the snowball sampling technique from various locations in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the United States. They were of different nationalities and ethnicities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The data transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results The social effects of the epidemic affect more women than had been thought before and at deeper emotional levels. Women perceived that the public health systems were placing an unfair responsibility for preventing health complications from Zika onto women who have limited ability. They also stated that the measures recommended to them were invasive, while creating the perception that women were the sole determinant of whether they contracted Zika. The results indicate that women with higher levels of education understood the limitations of the information, government actions, and medical care they received, which ended up producing higher levels of anguish and worry. Conclusions Women appeared to be disproportionately affected by the reproductive implications of the epidemic, even when they were only indirectly affected. Gender inequality and gender discrimination must be recognized and rendered visible in the public health emergency response. It is shown the importance of considering cultural aspects and behaviors when implementing health prevention or protection measures to control epidemics.
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