Reproductive health needs of women and girls in natural disasters: a systematic review

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 PhD Candidate in Reproductive Health, Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate professor, Department of Midwifery & Reproductive Health, Midwifery and Reproductive Health Research Center, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

3 Professor, Department of Nursing, School of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Natural disasters are one of the crises which are increasing all around the world. The effect of these disasters is more intense on adult girls and women than other groups of the society. Reproductive health needs of women and adult girls are one of the important issues at the time of natural disasters, which needs special attention. Although more attention has been paid to this issue, the reproductive health needs of this group are still neglected. The present review study was performed with aim to evaluate the effect of natural disasters on the reproductive health needs of women and girls of reproductive age.
Methods: In this systematic review, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Library databases were searched between 2011 and 2023 using MESH keywords including Natural disaster, Reproductive Health, Women and Girl. The quality of the studies was assessed by the checklists of STROBE and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), and finally, ten eligible studies were used for analysis.
Results: Women and girls face many problems related to reproductive health during natural disasters. Reproductive health needs of women and girls during natural disasters include needs related to mother and child health, menstrual and genital health, early puberty and access to reproductive health services.
Conclusion: The occurrence of natural disasters such as floods, flash floods and earthquakes leads to ignorance of reproductive health requirements of women and girls. Therefore, they may face many problems in these conditions. Hence, it is recommended to provide necessary infrastructures and trainings in order to prepare for possible natural disasters.

Keywords

References

  1. Kusumastuti RD, Arviansyah A, Nurmala N, Wibowo SS. Knowledge management and natural disaster preparedness: A systematic literature review and a case study of East Lombok, Indonesia. International journal of disaster risk reduction 2021; 58:102223.
  2. Hays KE, Prepas R. The professionalization of international disaster response: it is time for midwives to get ready. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health 2015; 60(4):348-59.
  3. Meltzer GY, Zacher M, Merdjanoff A, Mai P, Pham NK, Abramson D. The effects of cumulative natural disaster exposure on adolescent psychological distress. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk 2021; 12(1):6.
  4. Alam K, Rahman MH. Women in natural disasters: a case study from southern coastal region of Bangladesh. International journal of disaster risk reduction 2014; 8:68-82.
  5. Basu M, Ghosh S, Jana A, Bandyopadhyay S, Singh R. Resource mapping during a natural disaster: a case study on the 2015 Nepal earthquake. International journal of disaster risk reduction 2017; 24:24-31.
  6. Sohrabizadeh S, Tourani, PhD S, Khankeh HR. Women and health consequences of natural disasters: challenge or opportunity?. Women & health 2016; 56(8):977-93.
  7. Singh NS, Smith J, Aryasinghe S, Khosla R, Say L, Blanchet K. Evaluating the effectiveness of sexual and reproductive health services during humanitarian crises: a systematic review. PLoS One 2018; 13(7):e0199300.
  8. Swatzyna RJ, Pillai VK. The effects of disaster on women's reproductive health in developing countries. Global journal of health science 2013; 5(4):106-13.
  9. Aprianti AK, Nursal DG. Reproductive Health Management Program Evaluation of West Sumatera Disaster. Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences 2021; 15(1):230-6.
  10. Bahmanjanbeh F, Kohan S, Yarmohammadian MH, Haghshenas A. Evaluation of reproductive health indicators in women affected by East Azarbaijan earthquake on August 2012. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research 2016; 21(5):504.
  11. Rezaei Z, Sheikhan Z, Ozgoli G, Emamhadi MA, Nasiri M. The survey of maternal complications of Kermanshah earthquake in 2017. Iran J Obstet Gynecol Infertil 2022; 25(4):81-7.
  12. Beek K, Dawson A, Whelan A. A review of factors affecting the transfer of sexual and reproductive health training into practice in low and lower-middle income country humanitarian settings. Conflict and Health 2017; 11(1):1-2.
  13. Nursal DG, Halawa SP. The implementation of reproductive health program during the flash flood disaster in Sijunjung, West Sumatra in 2018. InIOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2021; 708(1):012098. IOP Publishing.
  14. Fatemi F, Moslehi S. Challenges of reproductive health management in the camps of internally displaced persons: a systematic review. Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences 2021; 31(1).
  15. Casey SE. Evaluations of reproductive health programs in humanitarian settings: a systematic review. Conflict and health 2015; 9:1-14.
  16. Stephens JH, Lassa JA. Sexual and reproductive health during disasters: A scoping review of the evidence. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 2020; 50:101733.
  17. Singh NS, Aryasinghe S, Smith J, Khosla R, Say L, Blanchet K. A long way to go: a systematic review to assess the utilisation of sexual and reproductive health services during humanitarian crises. BMJ global health 2018; 3(2):e000682.
  18. Broaddus-Shea ET, Kobeissi L, Ummer O, Say L. A systematic review of monitoring and evaluation indicators for sexual and reproductive health in humanitarian settings. Conflict and health 2019; 13(1):1-26.
  19. Casebolt MT. Barriers to reproductive health services for women with disability in low-and middle-income countries: a review of the literature. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare 2020; 24:100485.
  20. Rylander C, Øyvind Odland J, Manning Sandanger T. Climate change and the potential effects on maternal and pregnancy outcomes: an assessment of the most vulnerable–the mother, fetus, and newborn child. Global health action 2013; 6(1):19538.
  21. Segal TR, Giudice LC. Systematic review of climate change effects on reproductive health. Fertility and Sterility 2022; 118(2):215-23.
  22. Rezaeian M. The association between natural disasters and violence: A systematic review of the literature and a call for more epidemiological studies. J Res Med Sci 2013; 18(12):1103-7.
  23. Lee A. Rapid review of gender-based violence and natural disasters; 2018.
  24. Bell SA, Folkerth LA. Women’s mental health and intimate partner violence following natural disaster: A scoping review. Prehospital and disaster medicine 2016; 31(6):648-57.
  25. Jennings L, George AS, Jacobs T, Blanchet K, Singh NS. A forgotten group during humanitarian crises: a systematic review of sexual and reproductive health interventions for young people including adolescents in humanitarian settings. Conflict and health 2019; 13:1-16.
  26. Partash N, Naghipour B, Rahmani SH, Asl YP, Arjmand A, Ashegvatan A, et al. The impact of flood on pregnancy outcomes: a review article. Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2022; 61(1):10-4.
  27. Loewen S, Pinchoff J, Ngo TD, Hindin MJ. The impact of natural disasters and epidemics on sexual and reproductive health in low‐and middle‐income countries: a narrative synthesis. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 2022; 157(1):11-8.
  28. Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Research Methods and ReportinG 2021; 10(1):1-11.
  29. Alimoradi Z, Lin CY, Broström A, Bülow PH, Bajalan Z, Griffiths MD, et al. Internet addiction and sleep problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews 2019; 47:51-61.
  30. Erik von Elm M, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock SJ, Gøtzsche PC, Vandenbroucke JP. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. Ann Intern Med 2007; 147(8):573.
  31. Porritt K, Gomersall J, Lockwood C. JBI's systematic reviews: study selection and critical appraisal. AJN The American Journal of Nursing 2014; 114(6):47-52.
  32. World Health Organization. Floods. World Health Organization 2023 [cited 2023/04/29]. Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/floods#tab=tab_1.
  33. Lian Q, Zuo X, Mao Y, Zhang Y, Luo S, Zhang S, et al. The impact of the Wenchuan earthquake on early puberty: a natural experiment. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5085.
  34. Budhathoki SS, Bhattachan M, Castro-Sánchez E, Sagtani RA, Rayamajhi RB, Rai P, et al. Menstrual hygiene management among women and adolescent girls in the aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal. BMC women's health 2018; 18(1):1-8.
  35. Anwar J, Mpofu E, Matthews LR, Shadoul AF, Brock KE. Reproductive health and access to healthcare facilities: risk factors for depression and anxiety in women with an earthquake experience. BMC public health 2011; 11(1):1-3.
  36. Kyozuka H, Murata T, Yasuda S, Ishii K, Fujimori K, Goto A, et al. The effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake on perinatal outcomes: results of the pregnancy and birth survey in the Fukushima Health Management Survey. Journal of Epidemiology 2022; 32(Supplement_XII):S57-63.
  37. Hetherington E, Adhikari K, Tomfohr-Madsen L, Patten S, Metcalfe A. Birth outcomes, pregnancy complications, and postpartum mental health after the 2013 Calgary flood: a difference in difference analysis. Plos one 2021; 16(2):e0246670.
  38. Baloch S, Khaskheli MN, Sheeba A. Screening of reproductive health problems in flood affected pregnant women. J Liaquat Univ Med Health Sci 2012; 11:101-4.
  39. Kamal AH, Umama U, Roman S, Khan MM. Impact of flood on women’s sexual and reproductive health: An empirical evidence from northern Bangladesh. Global Journal of Medical Research 2018; 18(5):56-64.
  40. Ray-Bennett NS, Corsel DM, Goswami N, Ghosh A. Understanding reproductive health challenges during a flood: insights from Belkuchi Upazila, Bangladesh. Gates open research 2019; 3.
  41. Tong VT, Zotti ME, Hsia J. Impact of the Red River catastrophic flood on women giving birth in North Dakota, 1994–2000. Maternal and child health journal 2011; 15:281-8.
  42. Mallett LH, Etzel RA. Flooding: what is the impact on pregnancy and child health?. Disasters 2018; 42(3):432-58.
  43. Myers A, Sami S, Onyango MA, Karki H, Anggraini R, Krause S. Facilitators and barriers in implementing the Minimum Initial Services Package (MISP) for reproductive health in Nepal post-earthquake. Conflict and health 2018; 12(1):1-9.
  44. Sohrabizadeh S, Jahangiri K, Khani Jazani R. Reproductive health in the recent disasters of Iran: a management perspective. BMC public health 2018; 18(1):1-8.
  45. Boyce WT, Sokolowski MB, Robinson GE. Toward a new biology of social adversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2012; 109(supplement_2):17143-8.
  46. Hanson JL, Hariri AR, Williamson DE. Blunted ventral striatum development in adolescence reflects emotional neglect and predicts depressive symptoms. Biological psychiatry 2015; 78(9):598-605.
  47. Ruttle PL, Shirtcliff EA, Armstrong JM, Klein MH, Essex MJ. Neuroendocrine coupling across adolescence and the longitudinal influence of early life stress. Developmental psychobiology 2015; 57(6):688-704.
  48. Behrman JA, Weitzman A. Effects of the 2010 Haiti earthquake on women's reproductive health. Studies in family planning 2016; 47(1):3-17.
  49. Liu S, Han J, Xiao D, Ma C, Chen B. A report on the reproductive health of women after the massive 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 2010; 108(2):161-4.
  50. MirMohamadaliIe M, Jazani RK, Sohrabizadeh S, Nasrabadi AN. Barriers to breastfeeding in disasters in the context of Iran. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 2019; 34(1):20-4.
  51. Wilbur J, Clemens F, Sweet E, Banks LM, Morrison C. The inclusion of disability within efforts to address menstrual health during humanitarian emergencies: A systematized review. Frontiers in Water 2022: 158.
  52. Soeiro RE, Rocha L, Surita FG, Bahamondes L, Costa ML. Period poverty: menstrual health hygiene issues among adolescent and young Venezuelan migrant women at the northwestern border of Brazil. Reproductive health 2021; 18:1-9.
The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility
Volume 26, Issue 8
October 2023
Pages 78-89

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics