Understanding Sexual and Reproductive Wellbeing (SRWB) in Diverse Global Contexts: Findings from In-Depth Interviews with Women in Rural, Urban, and Pastoral Ethiopia

Christine Dehlendorf, University of California, San Francisco
Ewenat Gebrehanna, St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College
Hanna Feleke, St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College
Vicky Boydell, The Institute of Women's Health, UCL, London, UK
April Bell, UCSF
Alyssa Lindsey, University of California, San Francisco
Rebecca Kriz, University of California, San Francisco
Mahima Ali, University of California, San Francisco

Population measures of sexual and reproductive health have increasingly been criticized for being deficit-focused and failing to prioritize the lived experiences of those whose behavior is being measured. Sexual and Reproductive Wellbeing (SRWB) - conceptualized as whether individuals have achieved the sexual and reproductive outcomes they wish to have – provides an alternative framework that can serve as the foundation for developing an asset-based measure. While wellbeing is increasingly recognized as a core objective of economic and development policies and programs, existing measures of wellbeing neglect people’s sexual and reproductive experiences. To move towards the development of a measure of SRWB, the Person-Centered Reproductive Health Program at the University of California, San Francisco, and collaborators at St. Paul’s Hospital Millenium Medical College in Ethiopia will be conducting qualitative research to refine SRWB’s definition and measure development. Qualitative semi-structured interviews will take place with women living in rural, urban, and pastoral settings in Ethiopia regarding their conceptualization of their sexual and reproductive lives and what SRWB means to them. This session will share key insights from these qualitative in-depth interviews, including the next steps towards the development of a measure of SRWB in diverse global contexts.

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Qualitative data/methods/approaches

See extended abstract.