Abstract
BackgroundAlthough Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB) can have serious medical consequences and significantly impacts daily life, the overall trend is that most women do not seek care for these symptoms. The objective of this review was to synthesise factors impeding women’s access care for AUB.MethodsSystematic literature review of qualitative studies (interview and focus group) regarding the lived in experiences of women with abnormal menstrual symptoms, followed by a thematic analysis of these studies. We screened CINAHL, SCOPUS, ProQuest, OVID and Pubmed for qualitative studies. Studies were assessed using the Clinical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist and thematic synthesis was used to develop themes from the findings of the studies.ResultsThe review yielded 12 studies that satisfied the inclusion criteria. Three themes were developed that described barriers for women seeking care for AUB: health literacy (understanding of normal periods, role of cervical Pap smears and lack of access to appropriate information), taboo/normalisation (fear and embarrassment of symptoms, prioritising others) and health care provider (lack of accessible and trusted female GPs and poor experiences with GPs).ConclusionsFor 20 years women have consistently reported poor experiences in accessing care for AUB. The findings from our review indicate that drivers to impeding access are multiple; therefore any approaches to improve access will need to be multi-level – from comprising local sociocultural considerations to improved GP training.
Highlights
Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB) can have serious medical consequences and significantly impacts daily life, the overall trend is that most women do not seek care for these symptoms
The Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) system for classification and management of AUB has been reviewed with the aim to cease the use of poorly defined and confusing terms such as metorrhagia and dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and replaced them with terms that can be translated globally [6]
AUB can have serious medical consequences and significantly impacts daily life, the overall trend is that most women do not seek care for these symptoms
Summary
Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB) can have serious medical consequences and significantly impacts daily life, the overall trend is that most women do not seek care for these symptoms. Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is excessive, erratic and/or prolonged blood loss that interferes with a woman’s physical, social and mental quality of life. FIGO defines heavy menstrual bleeding as 100-130mls of blood loss over varying number of days throughout the whole cycle but often within the first 10 in addition to anaemia. The FIGO system for classification and management of AUB has been reviewed with the aim to cease the use of poorly defined and confusing terms such as metorrhagia and dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and replaced them with terms that can be translated globally [6]. AUB can have a significant impact on women’s quality of social, emotional and mental health. A meta-analysis of US and European studies estimated that women with AUB have poor health related
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