Health Behaviors for Vaginal Infection among Married Women in Ismailia City

Background: Vaginal infection is a significant feminine health problem, that is a great burden and associated with substantial discomfort, it is the most frequent problem for gynecologic medical visits.    Aim: This study aimed to evaluate health behaviors that are associated with vaginal infections among married women in Ismailia city.     Materials and Methods: Descriptive study design was conducted in the month of July 2012. Eight governmental rural & urban PHC centers in Ismailia were randomly selected to representing the geographical zones and flow up rate. A total of (360) married woman at reproductive age was included. Pregnant women, medical disorders such as diabetes & thyroid disorder, after antibiotic treatment and use of oral contraceptive pills were excluded. Two main tools were used, structured interviewing and vaginal swap for microbiological tests.                               Results: The study results revealed that the majority infected woman had unsatisfactory health behavior, with only 17.0% of them had satisfactory behavior.                                                                                                 
 
Conclusion: Most of the sample got unsatisfactory level of health behaviors and there were high significant association between unsatisfactory health behaviors as personal hygiene, sexual hygiene, menstrual hygiene, vaginal hygienic practices and toileting practices and vaginal infection. Recommendation: Health educational program through different media to women for vaginal proper hygienic care and health behaviors that can be used to promote the prevention of vaginal infection for women throughout their lives.