Genital Hygiene Behavior and Access to Clean Water Associated with Vaginal Discharge Among Women

Abstract

Background: Vaginal discharge is one of the reproductive health problems in women, almost every woman has experienced this. Lack of knowledge about genital hygiene behavior and access to clean water are indirect factors that cause vaginal discharge in women. Objective: This literature review aims to determine the correlation of genital hygiene behavior and access to clean water on the incidence of vaginal discharge in women. Methods: A systematic search was conducted through electronic databases, ScienceDirect, PubMed and Google Scholar. Inclusion criteria focused on fulltext-open access articles in Indonesian and English, and not literature studies published from 2015 to 2023 with the keywords "genital hygiene behavior" AND "vaginal discharge", "clean water" AND "vaginal discharge", "personal hygiene" AND "vaginal discharge", "genital hygiene behavior" OR "clean water" OR "vaginal discharge" according to PRISMA guidelines. Results: Eight articles meeting the inclusion criteria were selected and analyzed. The analysis revealed four articles explained that there was a strong correlation between genital hygiene behavior and vaginal discharge and four articles stated that there was a strong correlation between access to clean water and the incidence of vaginal discharge. Conclusion: Proper genital hygiene behavior and access to clean water play a crucial role in maintaining reproductive health, preventing infections, and reducing the risk of vaginal discharge in women. Cleaning the genital area from front to back and keeping it clean and dry helps maintain the balance of natural bacteria in the vagina. Clean water helps wash the genital area and can remove germs that cause vaginal discharge.