EXPERIENCE OF VAGINAL DOUCHING AMONG FEMALE UNDERGRADUATES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Vaginal douching (VD) is a global traditional practice involving the introduction of liquid substances into the woman's vagina which is believed to enhance sexual pleasure, hygiene, fertility or the reproductive health. It is often characterised by physical consequences such as ectopic pregnancy and pelvic inflammatory diseases. Despite these observations, many women douche regularly and the practice begins at a young age. This study was therefore designed to determine the awareness, perceptions, knowledge relating to VD and experience of VD among female undergraduate (FU) students of the University of Ibadan. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was adopted using the qualitative (Focus Group Discussion) and quantitative (semi-structured questionaire) methods of data collection. Four Focus Group Discussion (FGD) sessions were conducted in Queen Elizabeth, Queen Idia, Obafemi Awolowo and Alexander Brown FU halls of residence. Thereafter, the FGD responses were used to develop a semi-structured questionnaire that was used to interview 413 FUs selected using a 4-stage random sampling technique. The FUs were selected proportionately from halls of residence, blocks and rooms. The self-admnistered questionnaire included questions on socio-demographic characteristics, VD awareness, 8-point perception and 12-point knowledge scale of VD. Perception scores of ≤8 and 8 were classified as poor and good respectively. Qualitative data were analysed thematically while quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test at p=0.05. Respondents' age was 20.5±2.5 years. A total of 269 (65.1%) respondents had heard of the term vaginal douching before. Of this total, the internet (21.9%) was the most common source of information, followed by friends (16.3%), health professionals (15.9%), books (12.6%) and mothers (8.5%). Very few (0.8%) heard about VD from religious institutions. Seventy-five percent had poor perception of VD practice. Only 34.0% of the respondents had good knowledge of VD and its adverse health effects. A total of 125 (30.0%) respondents had ever practiced VD and 66.7% of the respondents used commercially prepared douche and home-made douches (33.3%). About two-thirds (65.0%) douched everyday while 10.0% douched more than once daily. Fifty-six percent douched on the day of the study and 13.8% a day preceeding the study. Reported reasons for douching include sexual partner's influence (32.0%), the need to feel fresh, (42.5%), need to reduce vagina odour (34.4%), and to cleanse the vagina after intercourse (6.1%). Vaginal douching is a common practice among female undergraduates and majority had poor perception and poor knowledge of the practice. Public enlightenment programmes can help to influence knowledge and perception as well as provide females with adequate information on the negative effects of the practice.