Vaginal Douching Among University Women in the Southeastern United States

Objective: The authors assessed the knowledge, beliefs about, and practices of vaginal douching among women attending 2 universities in the southeastern United States. Participants: There were 416 participants in this study; 46.9% were black and 44.5% were white. Methods: The authors administered a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of American college health 2008-01, Vol.56 (4), p.415-421
Main Authors: Cottrell, Barbara Hansen, Close, Fran T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
African Americans
bacterial vaginosis
Black American people
Campuses
College Students
Data analysis
Disease control
European Continental Ancestry Group
Families & family life
Female
Females
Health Behavior
Health care
Health education
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Hygiene
Inflammatory diseases
Misconceptions
Odors
Physiology
Pregnancy
Race
Racial Differences
Reproductive system
Risk factors
Science Curriculum
Sexual intercourse
Southeastern United States
Student Attitudes
Students
Studies
Undergraduate students
United States (Southeast)
Universities
Vaginal douching
Vaginal Douching - utilization
Variables
Whites
Women
Womens health
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Summary:Objective: The authors assessed the knowledge, beliefs about, and practices of vaginal douching among women attending 2 universities in the southeastern United States. Participants: There were 416 participants in this study; 46.9% were black and 44.5% were white. Methods: The authors administered a 30-item questionnaire to women enrolled in health-related and social science courses at 2 southeastern universities. Results: Approximately 38% of participants reported vaginal douching, mostly for hygienic reasons (70.7%). Most women first learned about douching from their mother. Douching was more common and more frequent among black women (48%) than among white women (27%). Age of first douche correlated positively with age of first sexual intercourse and age of first period. Conclusion: Women who had been informed not to douche by a healthcare professional were less likely to have douched within the past 6 months than were women who were not given this information. Misconceptions about douching are common and should be addressed by healthcare professionals.
ISSN:0744-8481
1940-3208
DOI:10.3200/JACH.56.44.415-422