Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) coding capacities in Swiss University Hospitals using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

Abstract

Background: To assess the number of inpatient women and girls in Swiss university hospitals from countries with high female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) prevalence, and of inpatients with a coded diagnosis of FGM/C.Methods: Exploratory descriptive study in Switzerland to assess the number of women and girls admitted to Swiss university hospitals between 2016 and 2018 from 30 FGM/C high prevalence countries (1), inpatients with a coded diagnosis of FGM/C (2). Participating hospitals provided anonymized data for all inpatient women and girls from 30 FGM/C practicing countries, and for all inpatients with a coded diagnosis of FGM/C. We calculated indirect estimates of inpatient women and girls with FGM/C and compared them with the number of inpatients with a coded diagnosis of FGM/C.Results: 8720 women and girls from countries with high prevalence of FGM/C were admitted. 207 patients were coded with FGM/C, including 7 with a nationality outside the 30 targeted countries, corresponding to an overall prevalence of 2.3% (95%CI: 2.0-2.6). The number of FGM/C cases by hospital was significantly different across year (P<0.001), with a higher proportion of cases collected in Geneva.Conclusions: The comparison between indirect estimates of inpatients with or at risk of FGM/C and the low number of FGM/C cases coded, suggests low recording and coding capacities of FGM/C.Funding: Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and Swiss Network against Female circumcision, Caritas Switzerland.