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.
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