© 2004 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. & Royal College of Nursing
Qualitative
Women associated vaginal symptoms with disease and sexual infidelity
Karasz A, Anderson M. The vaginitis monologues: women’s experiences of vaginal complaints in a primary care setting. Soc Sci Med 2003;56:1013–21.[CrossRef][Medline]
Q How do women interpret vaginal sensations as symptoms and construct these symptoms as problems requiring medical care?
Key Words: vaginitis • women’s health
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Qualitative study.
A family health centre serving a multi-ethnic, working class population in New York City, USA.
44 women >18 years of age who were diagnosed with vaginitis (ICD-9 code 616.10) in the previous 4 months.
Women participated in semistructured telephone interviews of 30–45 minutes, during which interviewers took indepth notes. Data collection and analysis were based on an iterative process. Women were asked to generate illness narratives of symptom and treatment experiences. The semistructured component of the interview was based on the Illness Representation Model.
Most women had some combination of itching, discharge, and odour. Conceptions of [a] normal [vagina]. Women judged normality based on characteristics of vaginal discharge (eg, quantity, colour, odour, consistency, and timing in relation to the menstrual cycle). Although most felt that some discharge was normal, one fifth thought that a normal vagina should be dry and odour free. Causation. About half of the women
BC Women’s Hospital
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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