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- Råssjö, Eva-Britta, 1950-
(författare)
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Sexual Behaviour and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Urban Ugandan Youth – Perceptions, Attitudes and Management
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aims of this thesis were to expand the knowledge about sexual and reproductive health among urban Ugandan youths, living in a slum, and to evaluate the national flow-chart for management of the abnormal vaginal discharge (AVD) syndrome in adolescent girls. Data collection included individual interviews, focus-group discussions and clinical investigations with tests for chlamydia trachomatis (CT), neisseria gonorrhoea (NG), trichomonas vaginalis (TV), syphilis, and HIV infection. Poverty, peer pressure and gender power imbalance were obstacles to safe sexual practices: to abstain from sex, be faithful or to use condoms. Prevalence among the 199 female and 107 male adolescents for CT, NG, TV, syphilis and HIV was 4.5%, 9.0%, 8.0%, 4.0% and 15.2% for females and 4.7%, 5.7%, 0%, 2.8% and 5.8% for males. The national AVD flow-chart had a sensitivity of 61%, a specificity of 38.5% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 11.6%. A flow-chart using risk factors, rather than symptoms, implicated a sensitivity/specificity and PPV of 82.6%/47% and 17.3% respectively. Socially disadvantaged females had a high risk to be HIV infected and HIV infection was associated to other STIs. Females were more likely than males to have any of the infections studied. Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV was considered as helpful in preventing the spread of HIV. Obstacles for testing were: lack of time and money, fear of stigmatisation and fear that the knowledge of HIV positive status could shorten someone's life. An alternative flow-chart for management of AVD among adolescent girls should be evaluated. Girl's opportunities for education and income generating work should be a priority. VCT services for young people should be made accessible in terms of cost, time and quality of counselling.
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| 2. |
- Viberga, Ilze, 1963-
(författare)
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The Clinical Appearance of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease in Relation to Use of Intrauterine Device in Latvia : A Study with Special Emphasis on Factors Influencing the Clinical Course of PID in IUD Users
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The objectives of this case-control study, investigating 51 in-patient women with acute pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and 50 healthy women attending for routine gynecological check-up, were to investigate the background and reproductive history of women, who are considered at low risk of sexually transmitted infection presenting with PID, to examine whether intrauterine device (IUD) use per se and long use affects the microbiology and clinical course of the disease, to identify risk factors for PID and to examine whether IUD use is an independent risk factor for PID.The most striking difference regarding the background and reproductive history between women with PID and healthy women over age 25 were related to socio-demographic factors and not to common risk factors for PID.There was little difference between healthy women and women with current PID with regard to single microbes. The finding of combinations of several anaerobic or aerobic/anaerobic microbes appeared to be associated with PID, particularly in women over 35. The pathogenesis of non-sexually transmitted PID appears to be associated with a synergistic effect between several pathogens, possibly facilitated by the presence of an IUD.IUD use per se was associated with an increased risk of PID in women 35 and older. There was an association between IUD use and complicated PID in women over 35, which was possibly influenced by long-term IUD use. Age over 35 and IUD use, independently of each other, were associated with an increased risk of failed conservative treatment, necessitating surgery in patients with PID.An observational study showed that Latvian obstetrician-gynecologists participate actively in contraceptive counseling and are very experienced with regard to IUD use. Physicians’ attitudes and perceptions towards IUD are generally positive and their clinical considerations are in good agreement with that of doctors in other countries. Antibiotics are widely used around IUD insertion by doctors, possibly driven by a liberal attitude towards IUD use in women with a potential risk of STI. The study could identify some possible gaps in the theoretical knowledge about the IUD and other methods.
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