Concerns of Women of Reproductive Age with Multiple Sclerosis: A Qualitative Study

AbstractIntroduction: Psychological disorders are the leading cause of disabilities, socialharms, and reduced quality of life in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Thisqualitative study was conducted to describe the concerns of females with MS.Methods: In this qualitative study, 16 females with MS at the reproductive agewith medical records at the MS Society of Tabriz were selected using the purposivesampling technique and underwent semi-structured in-depth individual interviews.All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using conventional contentanalysis.Results: In this study, 23 codes were identified from transcribed interviews andcategorized to two sub-categories, fears and feelings. These two sub-categories formedthe main category, named concerns.Conclusions: Regarding concerns of these patients, their regular health monitoring byphysicians and healthcare providers is recommended in an attempt to alleviate theseconcerns