Volume 36, Issue 145 (January 2024)                   IJN 2024, 36(145): 490-503 | Back to browse issues page


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Khodabakhshi M, Sadeghi Avval Shahr H, Amini L, Haghani S. Relationship of Fear of COVID-19 With Sexual Function and Sexual Satisfaction in Iranian Midwives: A Cross-sectional Study. IJN 2024; 36 (145) :490-503
URL: http://ijn.iums.ac.ir/article-1-3681-en.html
1- Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
2- Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. , sadeghi.ho.46@gmail.com
3- Department of Biostatistics, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Introduction
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2020. It infected or killed millions of people in the world. Since the virus is transmitted through close contact with infected people, social distancing and quarantine were the first line of defense against this pandemic. Healthcare workers including midwives had more exposure to this virus which increased their vulnerability and mental health problems such as distress and fear. Uncertainty about the results of diagnostic tests, the relatively long incubation period, the unknown nature of the virus can increase the fear of contracting this virus and transferring it to family members, especially spouses. This fear, in turn, can affect the mental health and marital relations. Sexual health is essential for the global health and well-being of individuals, couples and families, and it can make people resistant to viral infections by strengthening the immune system. The present study aims to determine the relationship of the fear of COVID-19 with sexual function and sexual satisfaction of midwives working in teaching hospitals in Tehran, Iran. 

Methods
This is a cross-sectional study which was conducted on 122 married midwives affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences. They were selected by a targeted sampling conducted from May 13 to August 6, 2022. Data collection tools included a demographic form, fear of COVID-19 scale, female sexual function index (FSFI) and sexual satisfaction index. Data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 24, using statistical tests including Pearson’s correlation test, independent t-test, and analysis of variance.

Results
The mean age of midwives was 32.21‌±‌6.27 years. Most of them had a bachelor’s degree and their mean marriage duration was 6.83±5.39 years. Most of them had been vaccinated. Also, 75.4% reported a history of infection with COVID-19. The findings indicated an negative and significant correlation (weak) between the fear of COVID-19 and sexual satisfaction (r=-0.214, P=0.019). The fear of COVID-19 also had a negative and significant correlation with sexual function in total (r=-0.450, P<0.001) and in all domains. The highest correlation of fear of COVID-19 with the FSFI domains was related to satisfaction (r=-0.546) and the lowest correlation with related to pain (r=-0.283).

Conclusion
According to the study results, fear of COVID-19 had a negative and significant relationship with sexual function in Iranian married midwives. This means that as the fear of infection with the COVID-19 virus increases, the sexual function of midwives decreases. Another key finding of this study was the negative and significant relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and sexual satisfaction in midwives, although the correlation was weak. This indicates that midwives who are more afraid of COVID-19 have lower sexual satisfaction. The provision of psychological intervention to midwives who are more exposed to health-related hazards in the workplace should be taken into considerations. The main limitations of this research were the cross-sectional design and the use of self-report tools for data collection. Also, the study was conducted only in some areas of Tehran, which limits the generalizability of the findings. More studies with longitudinal and prospective designs using a larger sample size in different regions of Iran are recommended.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Iran University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.IUMS.REC.1400.847). All ethical principles were considered in this article. The participants were informed about the study objectives and methods. Before the study, written informed consent was obtained from all them, and they were assured about the confidentiality of their information and were free to leave the study at any time. 

Funding
This study was extracted from the master's thesis of Maryam Khodabakhshi under the number 21716-3-2-1400, which was funded by Vice-Chancellor for Research of Iran University of Medical Sciences.

Authors' contributions
Conceptualization and supervision: Homa Sadeghi Avval Shahr; Methodology: Homa Sadeghi Avval Shahr, Leila Amini; Data collection, Investigation and Writing original draft: Maryam Khodabakhshi; Review and editing: All authors; Data analysis: Shima Haghani; Funding acquisition and Resources: Homa Sadeghi Avval Shahr.

Conflict of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Technology of Iran University of Medical Sciences.


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Type of Study: Research | Subject: Midwifery
Received: 2023/04/12 | Accepted: 2024/02/20 | Published: 2024/02/20

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