title: Young women's experiences of managing self-treatment for anogenital warts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of self-treatment for anogenital warts from the perspective of a group of young women who received it.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten young Swedish women were interviewed in the study, aged between 16 and 21. The young women had been diagnosed with anogenital warts and self-managed their treatment with 0.5% podophyllotoxin solution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Self-management using 0.5% podophyllotoxin solution poses numerous difficulties. The nature of the treatment as a topical liquid is particularly testing for young women in terms of both application and genital pain, with implications for continuation of the treatment regime. The self-treatment challenges both personal integrity as well as interpersonal relations and creates a personal responsibility which appears to be somewhat overwhelming at times.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health care professionals need to recognize the challenge that self-treatment poses to their clients. The issues that create difficulty in relation to topical liquid treatment regimes and importantly can lead to poor adherence to the treatment regime and discontinuation could easily be overcome by the use of different preparations. Continuity of care provider across treatments and alternative mechanisms of support would not only address some of the aspects that young women raise as particularly embarrassing and shameful, but also improve quality of care and increase general satisfaction with service provision.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, University of Skövde, Box 408, S-541 28 Skövde, Sweden. kina.hammarlund@his.se
authors.forename: Kina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hammarlund
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nyström
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jomeen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003218:Condylomata Acuminata / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D010146:Pain; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011034:Podophyllotoxin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012648:Self Care; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011034:Podophyllotoxin