Investigating women's s gynaecological morbidity in India: Not just another KAP survey

Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of vaginal discharge among married women of reproductive age group at a teaching hospital

“…Almost every fourth woman in gynecological out patient department has the complaint of vaginal discharge. 2 Several community based studies in India have shown that vaginal discharge was the commonest symptom suggestive of gynaecological morbidity especially in the rural women. 3,4 Women are the silent sufferers of this problem.…”

Mental Wellbeing and Self-reported Symptoms of Reproductive Tract Infections among Girls

“…In case they face any sexual or reproductive health problems, it is difficult for them to reveal the situation to family members, friends or health-care service providers, which rarely meet the requirements of confidentiality (Mmari et al 2014). South Asian adolescent girls' mental wellbeing is potentially jeopardised by the unhappy combination of vulnerable reproductive health (Bhatia and Cleland 1995), lack of personal autonomy (Ram et al 2014), and social taboos of seeking treatment (Koenig et al 1998). To reduce the stark gender asymmetry in sexual autonomy and to empower adolescent girls, they must be educated and financially supported in day-to-day life.…”

“…Self-report is found to be an inaccurate basis for determining the prevalence of gynaecological morbidity among adult women in India (Bhatia and Cleland 1995;Koenig et al 1998;Patel et al 2006). Gynaecological complaints can be somatic idioms for common mental disorders (Whittaker 2002).…”

Alternative study designs for research on women's gynaecological morbidity in developing countries

“…l7 The difficulties in securing high participation rates appear to be most pronounced in settings such as rural India -characterized by a highly conservative cultural environment, low women's status and empowerment, and low levels of treatment-seeking for gynaecological problems.21 Higher levels of sample loss are associated with a greater likelihood of self-selection among participating respondents, reducing the generalizability of study findings to the larger community. 12 Thus, although community-based studies are now widely viewed by most researchers as the 'gold standard' for establishing the prevalence, patterns and determinants of gynaecological morbidity,22 such studies may prove impractical in many settings. For this reason, it becomes important to consider and assess alternatives to community-based designs for research on gynaecological morbidity.…”