Acceptance of self-testing for increased vaginal pH in different subsets of Ugandan women

International Journal of STD & AIDS
G G G DondersJ Lulé

Abstract

We assessed the acceptance of self-testing for vaginal pH in 344 Ugandan women in different clinical settings. Women tested themselves by insertion of a gloved finger into the vagina to test vaginal pH and provide a smear on a glass slide. None of the tested women found the test very difficult: 8% found it somewhat difficult, 16% rather easy and 76% very easy to do. Of the 20% who found it difficult to read the test result, more women were attending a family planning clinic or had a higher diploma (P = 0.001). Pregnant women were least likely to understand of the meaning of the test, while those visiting family planning clinics had the opposite experience. HIV-infected women were most motivated to accept: 95% would be happy to use the test more often if requested, and another 3.5% felt they might be better motivated to do repeat testing after extra explanation. Self-sampling of vaginal pH is well accepted by Ugandan women. Our new method also allows diagnostic work-up by formal microscopy. Before commencing large-scale population screening, unexpected reactions of different subpopulations should be taken into account.

References

Sep 1, 1993·American Journal of Perinatology·G DondersJ Desmyter
Aug 15, 2000·American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology·G G DondersB Spitz
Sep 1, 2000·Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology·R L Sweet
Oct 12, 2000·Sexually Transmitted Infections·S VishwanathI de Zoysa
Apr 25, 2001·Sexually Transmitted Diseases·R B NessUNKNOWN PID Evaluation and Clinical Health (PEACH) Study Investigators
Jun 19, 2001·The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews·D Wilkinson, G Rutherford
Aug 21, 2001·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·S Cu-UvinUNKNOWN HIV Epidemiology Research Study
Aug 25, 2001·Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology·R RomeroY M Kim
Feb 16, 2002·BJOG : an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology·Gilbert G G DondersBernard Spitz
May 8, 2002·The Journal of Hospital Infection·S GuaschinoF De Seta
Feb 21, 2003·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·Harold C WiesenfeldRichard L Sweet
Jul 29, 2003·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·Thomas L CherpesSharon L Hillier
Jan 15, 2004·Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America·Jane R Schwebke
Jun 10, 2004·International Journal of STD & AIDS·T Hylton-KongS H Vermund
Apr 22, 2005·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·Thomas L CherpesSharon L Hillier
Jun 28, 2005·Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes : JAIDS·Jonathan A CohnGregory T Spear
Sep 6, 2006·European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology·Gilbert G G DondersGert Bellen
Nov 28, 2006·Bulletin of the World Health Organization·Jacques PépinEric Frost
Jan 9, 2007·BJOG : an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology·S GuaschinoS Alberico
Jun 5, 2007·Bulletin of the World Health Organization·M RomorenP Hjortdahl
Oct 24, 2007·AIDS Research and Therapy·Gregory T SpearM Reza Zariffard
Nov 16, 2007·The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research·Atef DarwishMohammad H Makarem
Feb 16, 2008·International Journal of STD & AIDS·Päivi LehtovirtaOskari Heikinheimo
Nov 13, 2008·Journal of Perinatal Medicine·Deborah B NelsonDavid N Fredricks
Jun 23, 2009·BJOG : an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology·G G DondersS Van Lierde

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Oct 17, 2013·Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology : the Journal of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology·S PapaioannouT G Knowles
Apr 27, 2016·Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease·Gilbert G G DondersJacobat Byamughisa
May 18, 2016·European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases : Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology·G G G DondersJ Byamughisa
Dec 10, 2016·European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases : Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology·G DondersJ Byamughisa

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
contraception

Software Mentioned

Instat
GraphPad

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Bacterial Vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis can increase the risk of sexually transmitted infections and in rare cases lead to pelvic inflammatory diseases. Discover the latest research on Bacterial Vaginosis here.