Reviewer ’s report  
 
Title: Sexual motivations during the menopausal transition amo ng Iranian women: A qualitative 
inquiry  
 
Version: 2 Date: 24 Jun 2018  
 
Reviewer: Elke Doris Reissing  
 
Reviewer's report:  
 
Thank you very much to the authors for addressing rev iewer comments with care.  
 
 
Below you will find a few more comments which are minor.  
 
 
In addition, I would like to invite the authors to consider a brief discussion on the juxtaposition 
of the very reasonable recommendations flowing from this qualitative s tudy of women's 
sexuality around menopause and the socio -cultural barriers to implementing steps to address 
these recommendations. Perhaps the authors can inform readers of available and possible 
avenues to address the challenges. I am often very pleasantl y surprised about the quantity and 
quality of sexuality -related research coming from Iran. Hence, as a Western reader, I may not 
fully appreciate the resources available in Iran.  
 
 
In the abstract, please modify 'conventional approach' for your qualitative  data analysis and be 
specific of the approach. Involved in qualitative data analyses myself, I am not certain at all that 
there would be agreement on what represents a 'conventional approach'.  
 
 
Please modify 'middle -aged illnesses'; perhaps: illness assoc iated with typically with mid -life. 
However, I am still not certain what those would be.  
 
 
'mismatched libido' is more typically referred to as 'desire discrepancy' in the literature.  
 
 
Please review the introduction and revise to eliminate 2 -sentence paragr aphs.  
 
 
p. 6: please explain in the text what the 'mirroring process' is in order to make the paper and data 
analysis accessible to all readers.  
 
 
p. 7: I can imagine that the confidentiality of the data was protected and the anonymity of 
responses reported can be guaranteed - and this was explained to participants. However, the 
anonymity of the person cannot be protected in the context of face -to-face meetings. Please 
clarify.  
 
 
p. 20: thank you for adding an explanation for reasons to experience pain with in tercourse. 
Please adjust a term slightly to the generally accepted version:  Genito -urinary syndrome of 
menopause. Please also remove the term 'objective' to describe pain as a result of GMS. Pain is a 
complex biopsychosocial experience and pain a subject to multiple interacting factors - even if 
the pain may be triggered initially by a physiological factor.  
 
 
 
Are the methods appropriate and well described?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Does the work include the necessary controls?  
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to t he authors.  
 
Unable to assess  
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manus cript or would you recommend an 
additional statistical review?  
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please speci fy what aspects require further 
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
Not relevant to this manuscript  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:  
 
Acceptable  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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