The Impact of Fear of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Women’s Reproductive Health Attitudes: A Cross-sectional Survey Study

Abstract

Background: many studies have been conducted on women's health during the pandemic period, there are a limited number of studies on women's reproductive health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of fear of coronavirus (COVID-19)   on women’s reproductive health attitudes. Materials and Methods: The research was carried out descriptive and cross-sectional. The population of the research consisted of women over the age of 18 who were registered at Güneyyurt Family Health Center and who were not in menopause, and the sample consisted of 317 married women. The data were collected with the Introductory Information Form, COVID- 19 Fear Scale and The Scale for Determining the Reproductive Health Preventive Attitudes of Married Women. Results: It was determined that 68.1% of the women were not working, 37.2% were secondary school graduates and their average age was 35.0±9.81. It was found that women's COVID-19 Fear Scale mean score was 18.72±8.34, and their SDQ mean score was 141.81±16.84. It was determined that there was a relationship between the Women's Fear of COVID-19 Scale and the sub-dimensions of the MSDS, Going to the Doctor on Issues Concerning Reproductive Health, General Health Behaviors to Protect Reproductive Health, and Protection from Unintended Pregnancies (p˃0.05). Conclusion: It can be said that the fear of the fear of Covid 19 positively affected most of women's attitudes towards protecting their reproductive health and created awareness on this issue.