Women's Perception of Their Husbands' Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction

Introduction: Given the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) and its impact on couples, and lack of treatment seeking, this study has been conducted to investigate men&#۳۹;s treatment interventions for ED from their spouses’ view point. Method: This is a qualitative study. Purposeful sampling was performed among women in health centers affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, and a family health center and continued until data saturation. In addition, ۱۶ in-depth unstructured interviews were performed. Conventional qualitative content analysis and constant comparison were performed simultaneous to collecting data. The inclusion criterion of the study was at least ۶ months experience of erectile dysfunction of the husband. Results: Disregard for treatment was one of the main themes and was formed from the integration of the categories of decrease in sexual relationship attractiveness, masculine attitude, and disability in having sex. Confusion in treatment was the other theme which was formed from integration of the categories of the wife’s view of erectile dysfunctions, couple intervention treatment, and treatment expectation. Conclusion: Dominance of men, and women’s passive reaction or incorrect behavior is an effective factor in lack of treatment seeking. Counseling with the partner, on the interaction method with spouse, improves the treatment seeking process for men.

Keywords:

Erectile dysfunction , Sexual dysfunction , Couples , Sexual relationship , qualitative research