A Phenomenological Study on the Gynecological Health-Seeking Behavior among Women who had Vaginal Infections

Abstract

Vaginal infections are plaguing women worldwide with the chances of it being asymptotic. Asymptotic infections are infections which show no symptoms. This characteristic of some vaginal infections may be harmful to women for they may neglect the importance of vaginal infections. However, most vaginal infections are symptotic. The most common symptoms of vaginal infections are itching, foul odor and whitish discharge – symptoms that may be mistaken for symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome. Vaginal infections have been classified into three types depending on the origin of the infection. Infections from bacteria inside the vaginal area are called endogenous and are usually caused by improper hygiene and and poor gynecological care. Infections acquired from sexual interactions and activities are called sexually-transmitted; while infections acquired from medical procedures that use non-sterile tools and done in unclean environments are called iatrogenic. The study has focused on two types of infections and these are endogenous and iatrogenic. Through a qualitative study using the phenomenological method, the research was able to conduct in-depth interviews with eight women and which resulted to eight themes: 1) health-seeking behavior at preinfection, 2) general perceptions on vaginal infections and proper gynecological care, 3) experiences during infection, 4) belief on how vaginal infection was acquired, 5) confidants about the infection and their reasons of telling, 6) actions done upon the infection, 7) reasons for seeking or not seeking help, and lastly, 8) post-infection gynecological care. The results of the study were able to point out causes and effects of the infections, how women perceive the infections, and the actions that they decide to do.