Women's douching practices and related attitudes in eastern Turkey

Aim:  Vaginal douching is a common hygiene practice for many women all over the world, but it is associated with several health risks. Little is known about the beliefs and attitudes that promote and maintain douching practices. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the statu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research 2007-06, Vol.33 (3), p.353-359
Main Authors: Ege, Emel, Timur, Sermin, Zincir, Handan, Egri, Mucahit, Sunar Reeder, Bulbin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
attitudes
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
feminine hygiene
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
risk factors
Turkey - ethnology
Vaginal Diseases - ethnology
Vaginal Diseases - etiology
vaginal douching
Vaginal Douching - adverse effects
Vaginal Douching - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:Aim:  Vaginal douching is a common hygiene practice for many women all over the world, but it is associated with several health risks. Little is known about the beliefs and attitudes that promote and maintain douching practices. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the status of vaginal douching practices of women in the Malatya province of eastern Turkey. Methods:  This was a cross‐sectional study. A sample of 465 Muslim women was interviewed to ascertain the status of vaginal douching practices. All participants were between 15 and 49 years of age and all were married. Data were collected by using a questionnaire in the process of conducting face‐to‐face interviews in June 2004. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and logistic regression modeling. Results:  The present study revealed that the frequency of douching was 61.5% among women. The participants were frequently douching for feminine hygiene (47.6%). Vaginal douching practices were associated with several factors including education level (odds ratio [OR] = 1.991, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.154–3.434), family income (OR = 0.996, 95% CI = 0.994–0.998), marital age (OR = 0.402, 95% CI = 0.223–0.715), frequency of sexual intercourse (OR = 2.335, 95% CI = 1.532–3.554), and presence of genital syndromes/infections (OR = 1.813, 95% CI = 1.215–2.739). Conclusion:  This study provides preliminary information about women's douching practices and attitudes in the Malatya region of Turkey. It may also provide information to health‐care practitioners in their efforts to educate women on the adverse effects of vaginal douching.
ISSN:1341-8076
1447-0756
DOI:10.1111/j.1447-0756.2007.00535.x