Psychosocial Impact Among Sudanese Women with Vesico-Vaginal Fistula

Abstract

Vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) is an abnormal fistulous extension between the urinary bladder and The vagina. The objective of this study was to investigate psychosocial impact among Sudanese women suffering from Vesicovaginal fistula. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among one hundred patients with Vesicovaginal fistula admitted at the fistula ward in Khartoum Teaching Hospital during the period from December 2007 to March 2008. The participants were invited to sign a written informed consent, and a pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the following information: sociodemographic data, the level of education, marital status, socioeconomic status, and the family attitude towards the patients. The Ethical Committee of the Sudan Specialization Board approved the research, and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used for the data analysis. A P-value of, < 0.05 was considered significant. The study revealed that more than two third of patients lie in age group (18-23) years. 71% of patients were valid married, 42% of patients were depressed, 26% of patients were either divorced or separated. 61% of patients were illiterate, and 69% were of low socioeconomic status. Family neglect was evident in 6% of patients while criticism was observed in 1%. Women with vesicovaginal fistula were young, of low socio-economic class, and relatively high level of depression, divorce rate, and separation.