1 Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine , Miami, Florida.
AIDS Patient Care STDS. 2014 Mar;28(3):121-7. doi: 10.1089/apc.2013.0309. Epub 2014 Feb 25.
Intravaginal practices (IVP) are the introduction of products inside the vagina for hygienic, health, or sexuality reasons. The influence of men and Alengizis, traditional marriage counselors for girls, in promoting IVP has not been explored. We conducted gender-concordant focus groups and key informant interviews with Alengizis. The responses were conducted grouped into three themes: (1) cultural norms, (2) types and reasons for IVP, and (3) health consequences. We found that IVP were used by all participants in our sample and were taught from generation to generation by friends, relatives, or Alengizis. The reasons for women to engage in IVP were hygienic, though men expect women to engage in IVP to enhance sexual pleasure. Approximately 40% of women are aware that IVP can facilitate genital infections, but felt they would not feel clean discontinuing IVP. All men were unaware of the vaginal damage caused by IVP, and were concerned about the loss of sexual pleasure if women discontinued IVP. Despite the health risks of IVP, IVP continue to be widespread in Zambia and an integral component of hygiene and sexuality. The frequency of IVP mandates exploration into methods to decrease or ameliorate their use as an essential component of HIV prevention.
阴道内操作（IVP）是为了卫生、健康或性原因而将产品引入阴道的行为。男性和传统的女孩婚姻顾问 Alengizis 对阴道内操作的推广影响尚未得到探索。我们对 Alengizis 进行了性别一致的焦点小组和关键知情人访谈。回应被分为三个主题：（1）文化规范，（2）IVP 的类型和原因，（3）健康后果。我们发现，我们样本中的所有参与者都使用了 IVP，并且是通过朋友、亲戚或 Alengizis 一代一代传授的。女性进行 IVP 的原因是卫生，但男性期望女性进行 IVP 以增强性快感。大约 40%的女性意识到 IVP 会导致生殖器感染，但她们觉得如果不进行 IVP 就不会感到干净。所有男性都不知道 IVP 会对阴道造成损害，并且担心如果女性停止 IVP，性快感会丧失。尽管 IVP 存在健康风险，但在赞比亚，IVP 仍然广泛存在，并且是卫生和性的一个组成部分。IVP 的频率需要探索减少或改善其使用的方法，因为这是 HIV 预防的一个重要组成部分。
