Community based study of reproductive tract infections among ever married women of reproductive age in a rural area of Haryana, India.
A community based study was carried out to estimate the load of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) among ever married rural women aged 15-44 years and utilisation of a mobile village based treatment facility by them, during 1997. Complete household survey was done in 10 randomly selected villages of Mahindergarh district in Haryana, India. A total of 2325 women were interviewed by auxiliary nurse midwives and were invited for medical examination in a health camp set-up in their village. Sixty-one percent (1415/2325) women reported symptoms of RTIs. Only 35% (812/2325) had their per-speculum examination done. Out of those examined, 32% (263/812) had vaginitis, 21% (175/812) had cervicits, and 19% (156/812) had pelvic inflammatory disease. Vaginal smear of those having discharge revealed that 48% (231/476) had bacterial vaginosis, 0.8% (4/476) had fungal infection 9% (44/496) had trichomonal infection and none was found to be having gonococcal infection. Tests for chlamydial infection could not be performed as the cost was not affordable. Eighty-nine percent of women who reported symptoms of RTIs had not consulted anyone for their problem prior to our village based camp. Only 42% symptomatic and 24% asymptomatics availed the services even in the village based camps. Study revealed high load of reproductive tract infections and low utilisation of treatment facility. In-depth studies are required to understand for high RTI morbidity load and low treatment seeking rate so as to design an appropriate RTI control programme.
Department of Community Medicine, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.
A K
AK
Aggarwal
R
R
Kumar
V
V
Gupta
M
M
Sharma
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003153:Community Health Services; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D017533:Marital Status; D012424:Rural Population