Douching practices among women in the Bolgatanga municipality of the upper east region of Ghana

Vaginal douching and health risks among young women

Objective

Vaginal douching is practiced by women for various reasons. Studies have shown that this practice can upset the normal vaginal flora, increasing susceptibility to certain sexually transmitted diseases (STIs). This study aimed to assess the health risks associated with this practice among women aged 15-54 years in a densely populated community in Kumasi, the second capital city of Ghana.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to gather data on the prevalence of vaginal douching among young women and their beliefs, motivations, and knowledge about the practice. A structured questionnaire was used in recruiting participants. One-hundred and fifteen structured questionnaires were administered to women aged between 15 and 54 after their consent was sought.

Results

The study established that more than half of the participants (69.6%) engaged in douching with a midpoint of 19.5. The study indicated no significant difference between the age of participants and douching (p < 0.93). However, there was an indication of a significant association between educational status, marital status, and perception in relation to douching (p < 0.003, 0.0015, and 0.00, respectively), which also influenced the frequency of douching and contraction of STIs.

Conclusion

Most women in the study community recruited, regardless of their educational and marital status, believed that douching is necessary and considered part of feminine hygiene practices. Practicing douching may lead to most health complications including pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility which must be given serious attention by researchers, health personnel, and various women's groups.

Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: Assessing the relationship between feminine/vaginal washes and other factors among Ghanaian women

INTRODUCTION

Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) is a public health problem, with approximately 30-50% of women affected at least once during their lifetime. Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (RVVC) is diagnosed following three or four repeated episodes of VVC in a calendar year. This condition poses health concerns with significant impacts on the quality of life of women. This cross-sectional study estimated the prevalence of RVVC and assessed the relationship between feminine/vaginal washes and other factors on RVVC among Ghanaian women in the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis.

METHODOLOGY

A cross-sectional study was employed to gather data from 304 women. Data were collected using a pretested questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate analyses, including chi-square/Fisher's exact test and logistic regression, were performed using Jamovi (R Core Team 2021) software. Proportions were calculated, and odds ratios and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals were computed with the level of significance set at 0.05.

RESULTS

The prevalence of RVVC was estimated as 48.4% (95% CI 42.6%, 54.1%). Feminine Vaginal wash use (aOR = 3.86; 95% CI = 2.18, 6.84); age 36-45 years (aOR = 0.36; 95% CI = 0.17, 0.76) marital status (aOR = 2.37; 95% CI = 1.17, 4.79) and Sexual activity (aOR:0.43: 95%CI = 0.21, 0.88) were significantly associated with RVVC with p < 0.005.

CONCLUSION

RVVC is prevalent among women in the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis of Ghana. Feminine/Vaginal washes could be cautiously linked to the development of RVVC.

Understanding Women's Vaginal Douching Behaviors and Practices for Consideration in the Development of a Potential Future Vaginal Microbicide Douche for HIV Prevention: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Despite clinicians consistently advising against vaginal douching, 29-92% of women worldwide report douching. This review documents women's douching practices, motivations for douching, and specific associations (or absence of associations) between vaginal douche use and vaginal outcomes thought to be associated with douching. Understanding women's existing douching behaviors and vaginal health outcomes is critical for developing a safe vaginal microbicide douche that can be used as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). A vaginal douche as PrEP could help prevent new HIV infections, since emerging evidence shows some women discontinue oral PrEP. We performed a systematic review of the literature using the guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Articles included in the analysis (N = 48) were published 2009-2019 in English and focused on women's experiences with douching. Two trained independent reviewers assessed these articles for content on vaginal douching, including racial/ethnic focus of studies, study design, sampling, women's reasons for douching, contents of douche solutions, and associations between vaginal douching and vaginal health outcomes. Several studies focused on Black women (N = 12 studies) or had no racial/ethnic focus (N = 12). Just over half of all studies (N = 24) were cross-sectional and involved a self-reported questionnaire and lab samples. Studies sampled women from health clinics where they were (N = 13) or were not (N = 14) presenting for vaginal health complaints. Women's primary motivation for douching was for "general cleanliness" (N = 13), and most douche solutions contained water (N = 12). There was little empirical agreement between vaginal douche use and most vaginal health outcomes. Future studies of PrEP vaginal douches should be well controlled and prioritize safety to ensure positive vaginal health outcomes.