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This study aimed to explore the views of women in Mozambique about key elements of empowerment for reproductive decisions and the meanings they attach to these elements.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Qualitative in-depth interviews were undertaken with 64 women of reproductive age (18\u201349\u00a0years) in two provinces in Mozambique. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling. Data collection took place between February and March 2020 in Maputo city and Province, and during August 2020 in Nampula Province. A thematic analysis was performed.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Women described crucial elements of how power is exerted for reproductive choices. These choices include the ability to plan the number and timing of pregnancies and the ability either to negotiate with sexual partners by voicing choice and influencing decisions, or to exercise their right to make decisions independently. They considered that women with empowerment had characteristics such as independence, active participation and being free. These characteristics are recognized key enablers for the process of women\u2019s empowerment.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>This study\u2019s findings contribute to an expanded conceptualization and operationalization of women\u2019s sexual and reproductive empowerment by unveiling key elements that need to be considered in future research and approaches to women\u2019s empowerment. Furthermore, it gave women the central role and voice in the research of\u00a0empowerment's conceptualization and measurement where women\u2019s views and meanings are seldom considered.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12978-024-01748-7","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,2]],"date-time":"2024-02-02T19:02:35Z","timestamp":1706900555000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Women's voices and meanings of empowerment for reproductive decisions: a qualitative study in Mozambique"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Sofia","family":"Castro Lopes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Deborah","family":"Constant","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"S\u00edlvia","family":"Fraga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Jane","family":"Harries","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"1748_CR1","unstructured":"United Nations (UN). 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The DPS and the Directorate of Health of the City of Maputo approved the implementation of the study before its commencement. All participants provided written informed consent and verbal permission for audio recording prior to the interview. Confidentiality and anonymity were ensured, and data were stored securely with access limited to the research team only.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare that they have no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"16"}}