Changes in Sexual Life in Women with Genital Warts: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to explore changes in sexual life in women with genital warts. Participants & Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in Tehran, Iran, from January 2019 to February 2020 on a purposeful sample of 14 women and 2 couples with genital warts. Data were collected through unstructured interviews and analyzed using a conventional content analysis approach. Findings: After conducting 23 interviews with 18 participants about understanding and experiencing sexual function following genital warts, a total of 224 initial codes were extracted. The central theme obtained was: “instability in sexual function” which includes 4 main categories: "Changes in the patient and spouse desire”, “Changes in the patient and spouse arousal”, “Changes in the patient and spouse orgasm “and” dyspareunia”. Conclusion: This study revealed the perceptions and experiences of women with genital warts about changes in their sexual life, which are often not expressed in quantitative studies. The results showed that genital warts have significant negative effects on various aspects of female sexual function. It seems that recognizing women's sexual dysfunction after getting genital warts may help health workers and women take effective and practical measures to improve their sexual function and health.