Skip to main content

Vaginal Douching Behavior among Young Adult Women and the Perceived Adverse Health Effects | Chapter 03 | Emerging Research in Medical Sciences Vol. 1

Aim: Several health belief models suggest that health risk perception could enhance behavioral modification to reduce lifestyle-related risks. Perceived health risks associated with vaginal douching (VD), propensity to douche and effects on douching behaviors were assessed in a cross-sectional survey of 1,463 female undergraduates, aged 18 to 35 years, randomly selected in a tertiary institution between 2011 and 2012.

Methodology: A 3-section semi-structured socio-demographic questionnaire on female genital tract hygiene practice was used for data collection. We conducted logistic regression analysis to test for association between douching and perceived health risk.

Results: The overall prevalence of VD was 79.2%. Most douchers (79.8%) lacked knowledge of risks associated with VD, 78.3% had misbeliefs about VD, 76.0% accepted the practice, 50.6% would have stopped if they had known the associated risks and 56.4% expressed fear of genital tract infections if they stopped douching. False beliefs and lack of knowledge about the health risks associated with VD increased the odds of douching among douchers (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Low health risk perception and misconceptions about VD are the primary reasons for douching. Therefore, providing health education on the associated health risks of VD to female adolescents and young adult women may help to discourage VD among women in our societies.

Author(s) Details

Christopher E. Ekpenyong
Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Uyo, Nigeria.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Brief Study of Middleware Technologies: Programming Applications and Management Systems | Chapter 15 | Novel Research Aspects in Mathematical and Computer Science Vol. 1

  Many platforms, services, applications, hardware, and operating systems are connected through the middleware layer. Because the middleware layer abstracts much low-level complexity and makes applications and software systems portable, it allows disparate systems to interface and function together in harmony. Middleware technologies enable software engineers to swiftly construct software systems and applications, allowing developers to focus on more important tasks. This chapter examines several types of middleware systems and discusses middleware capabilities, middleware operation, middleware's function in cloud-based systems, and the best middleware platforms to use. Middleware systems are widely utilised and can be found in practically any software system or application. Middleware programmes provide as a link between many sorts of systems and protocols. They serve as a mechanism for various systems. To successfully exchange information, it runs on a variety of operating system

A Prospective Study about Safety and Efficacy of Perioperative Lidocaine Infusion | Chapter 09 | New Horizons in Medicine and Medical Research Vol. 8

 Opioids cause clinically significant side effects such as respiratory depression, immunosuppression, muscle rigidity, negative inotropism, nausea, vomiting, hyperalgesia, urine retention, postoperative ileus, and drowsiness. Perioperative opioids are a major contributor to the United States' and other countries' opioid epidemics. Non-opioid analgesics, particularly lidocaine, are becoming more common for perioperative use as a result of this. A total of 185 adult patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: control group I (105 patients) [fentanyl group] or group ii (80 patients) [opioid-free anaesthesia group]. Lidocaine 1.5 mg/kg bolus followed by 1.5 mg/kg/h infusion intraoperatively, and 1.5-2 mg/kg/h infusion for 2-8 hours postoperatively were given to patients in both groups at anaesthetic induction. Intraoperatively, both groups received analgesic adjuvants such as diclofenac 75 mg, paracetamol 1 gm, and mgso4 30-50 mg/kg. If the mean arterial pressure (map)

Ethnopharmacological Survey among Traditional Medicine Practitioners in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) for the Management of Pathologies such as Malaria, ENT Diseases, Diarrhea, Typhoid Fever and Anemia | Chapter 05 | New Horizons in Medicine and Medical Research Vol. 8

 Traditional Medicine Practitioners (TMPs) of Côte d'Ivoire are familiar with the therapeutic herbs. Medicinal plants have been shown to be useful in the treatment of common diseases such as malaria (KROA, 2004) and diabetes (N'GUESSAN et al, 2013) in several studies and scientific study. In the Abidjan District, the current policy is to integrate traditional medicine and pharmacopoeia into the national health system in order to improve population health coverage, particularly in the management of commonly encountered diseases such as malaria, ENT diseases, diarrhoea, typhoid fever, and anaemia. This research aims to increase the use of traditional medicine and pharmacopoeia in the national health system. Over the course of three months, fifty (50) PMTs in the District of Abidjan participated in this study. Plant therapists accounted for 30 of the 50 PMTs polled at the end of the study, or 60%. Traditional medicine centres use 61 types of medicinal plants from 36 famili