‘But Because I Don’t Know About It, That’s Why I Haven’t Done It’: Experiences of Access to Preventive Sexual and Reproductive Health Care for Refugee Women from Iraq and Syria Living in Melbourne, Australia—A Qualitative Study

Natasha Davidson (), Karin Hammarberg and Jane Fisher
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Natasha Davidson: Global and Women’s Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
Karin Hammarberg: Global and Women’s Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
Jane Fisher: Global and Women’s Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: Women from Syria and Iraq constitute two of the largest groups of humanitarian visa entrants to Australia in the past 10 years. Barriers to and enablers of preventive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for these women are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to establish the preventive SRH care needs and experiences of women from refugee backgrounds from Syria and Iraq living in Australia. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with women from Syria and Iraq living in Melbourne, Australia. Caseworkers assisted with recruitment and volunteer interpreters with interviews. Between 1 December 2021 and 17 May 2022, interviews were conducted in English or in Arabic with a volunteer interpreter. Audio recordings of English dialogue were transcribed verbatim. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse and report data. Eighteen women were interviewed. Six themes were identified: (1) Awareness and knowledge about preventive SRH, (2) Perceptions about the need for preventive SRH care seeking, (3) Self-care and lack of motivation to seek preventive SRH care, (4) Health information seeking, and (5) Barriers to and enablers of preventive SRH care. Complex factors were found to influence access to preventive SRH care. Enhancing educational initiatives, improving accessibility to reliable health information, and addressing structural and motivational barriers are important for fostering better preventive SRH outcomes.

Keywords: health literacy; Iraq; prevention; qualitative; refugee women; sexual and reproductive health; Syria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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