Female Genital Mutilation: Knowledge and Skills of Health Professionals.

Brígida Molina-Gallego,Begoña Polonio-López,Sagrario Gómez-Cantarino,Laura Mordillo-Mateos,M Idoia Ugarte-Gurrutxaga,Gonzalo Melgar De Corral

doi:10.3390/healthcare9080974

Brígida Molina-Gallego, Begoña Polonio-López + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9080974

Copy DOI

Journal: Healthcare	Publication Date: Jul 31, 2021
Citations: 4	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Castilla-La Mancha

Abstract

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is any process that injures female genitals for non-medical reasons and is a violation of women’s human rights. An important number of women from countries where FGM is performed are arriving to Western countries. Health professionals are important for detecting cases of FGM. No surveys to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices on FGM among healthcare professionals has been conducted in Castilla la Mancha (Spain) until now. Methods: The main goal of the study is assessing knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of healthcare professionals in relation to FGM. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted based on self-administered online surveys to nurses, midwives, family doctors, pediatricians, obstetrics and gynecologists. Results: In total, 1168 professionals answered the surveys. Just 13.9% indicated that they had received training in FGM, however just 10.7% correctly identified the three types of FGM, 10.7% the countries where it is usually practiced, 33.9% knew the legislation in Spain and only 4.4% found a case of FGM during their professional practice. Regarding the knowledge about protocols, 8.64% of the sample indicated to know one of them. Conclusion: The present study demonstrate that it is necessary to improve the training and awareness of healthcare professionals related to FGM in Castilla la Mancha.

Highlights

A study of more than 28,000 women in six African countries found Female genital mutilation (FGM) caused adverse obstetric outcomes including disease and death [4,5], emphasizing that FGM is a growing health issue across Europe, the practice is illegal in most European countries [6,7]
Due to the process of globalization and the constant flow of migration, we find that FGM has spread to Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the United States and Canada [18,19]
The present study demonstrates that there is a problem linked to the FGM in the healthcare professionals in Castilla la Mancha

Summary

Introduction

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is any process that injures the female genital organs or the partial or complete removal of the external genitalia of a woman or girl for nonmedical reasons, and is a violation of women’s human rights. A study of more than 28,000 women in six African countries found FGM caused adverse obstetric outcomes including disease and death [4,5], emphasizing that FGM is a growing health issue across Europe, the practice is illegal in most European countries [6,7]. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is any process that injures female genitals for non-medical reasons and is a violation of women’s human rights. No surveys to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices on FGM among healthcare professionals has been conducted in Castilla la Mancha (Spain) until now. Methods: The main goal of the study is assessing knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of healthcare professionals in relation to FGM. Just 13.9% indicated that they had received training in FGM, just 10.7% correctly identified the three types of FGM, 10.7% the countries where it is usually practiced, 33.9% knew the legislation in Spain and only 4.4%

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion