The impact of migration and settlement context on Iranian Women's agency in accessing and using reproductive healthcare services in Australia: a qualitative study

This qualitative study aimed to understand how immigration and settlement context shape Iranian immigrants' agency in accessing and using reproductive healthcare services (RHCS). Twenty-one Iranian women of reproductive age (18–49 years) living in Australia were recruited in 2022 through social media platforms. The findings highlighted that although Iranian women's utilisation of RHCS in Australia is highly constrained by established sociocultural beliefs and values of their origin country, they become agents of making changes over their reproductive choices, reformulating beliefs and values, and taking control of reproductive health because of Australian sociocultural norms and context. This suggests a tension between the impacts of sociocultural contexts in their origin country and becoming agents of change after migrating to Australia. These findings need to be included in healthcare policy and practice to support greater consideration of cultural sensitivities and specific needs of immigrant women when accessing Australian RHCS.