Vaginal douching among adolescent and young women: more challenges than progress

Simpson, Tina; Merchant, Jeanne S.; Grimley, Diane M.; Oh, M. Kim

doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2004.05.008

Cited by 36 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 68 publications

(99 reference statements)

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“…The practice of vaginal douching and use of tampons for menstrual hygiene are common practices among adolescent women 31 suggesting that many adolescent women have overcome negative feelings about touching their genitals or inserting products vaginally. 30 An area of active research (9) 0.000 ** * P !…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceptability of the Vaginal Contraceptive Ring Among Adolescent Women

Terrell

Tanner

Hensel

et al. 2011

Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceptability of the Vaginal Contraceptive Ring Among Adolescent Women

Terrell

Tanner

Hensel

et al. 2011

Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology

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“…Existing research suggests that women may douche for various reasons, including treatment of vaginal symptoms (for example, vaginal odor, vulvar itching, vaginal discharge and inter-menstrual bleeding), for general hygiene, cleaning after menstruation, before and after sexual intercourse and as a contraceptive measure (Sweet, 2000;Ness et al, 2002;Martino and Vermund, 2002). However, worldwide, the primary reason for douching is its use as a hygienic measure, even though it is also potentially harmful (Rosenberg et al, 1991;Simpson et al, 2004). Cultural beliefs may also form a compelling reason for douching.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vaginal douching behavior among young adult women and the perceived adverse health effects

Ekpenyong¹,

Daniel²,

Akpan³

2014

J. Public Health Epidemiol.

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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. 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. 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). 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.

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“…8,9 The practices and their underlying motivations influence the acceptability and, thus, potential effectiveness of HIV prevention technologies, such as condoms, 10 the diaphragm, 11 and microbicides. 12 In Africa, so-called dry sex and other vaginal insertion practices have also been linked with such adverse reproductive outcomes as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility 2,[13][14][15] and with HIV infection. 16,17 Increased risk for HIV acquisition might be mediated through vaginal practices disrupting the vaginal epithelium or increasing the occurrence of bacterial vaginosis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%