The Effect Of Genital Hygiene Training Provided To Women With A History Of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis On Genital Hygiene Behaviors And Self-Care Agency

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the impact of genital hygiene training on genital hygiene practices and self-care agency levels in women with a history of vulvovaginal candidiasis who lived in rural locations. Methods: The participants of this randomized controlled study were women who had a history of vulvovaginal candidiasis during the previous year and were registered with family health centers in two rural communities in eastern Türkiye. There were 114 women in the sample, including 57 in the intervention group and 57 in the control group. Training on genital hygiene behaviors was given to the women in the intervention group. Results: Before the intervention, there was no significant difference in terms of self-care agency levels and genital hygiene behaviors between the women in the intervention group and the control group (p>0.05). After the first month following the training, the self-care agency levels of the participants in the intervention group increased significantly compared to the control group (94.71±8.08, 83.84±9.52, respectively;). Additionally, the appropriate genital hygiene behaviors mean score of the participants in the intervention group was significantly higher than those in the control group (141.36±15.88, 132.29±20.15, respectively;) (p<0.05). Conclusions: The results of this study showed that genital hygiene behavior training can be a useful strategy for promoting genital hygiene behaviors and self-care agency among women of reproductive age with a history of vulvovaginal candidiasis who live in remote locations.