Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Nov;103(2):121-4.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijgo.2008.06.014. Epub 2008 Aug 27.

Pelvic organ prolapse in rural Ghana

Osei K Wusu-Ansah  1 , Henry S Opare-Addo
Affiliations

Pelvic organ prolapse in rural Ghana

Osei K Wusu-Ansah et al. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2008 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and its impact on the lives of women in Sekyidumasi, a rural Ghanaian community.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 200 women was performed using a questionnaire and pelvic examination to detect symptoms and signs of prolapse. Main outcome measures were the presence of POP and its impact on quality of life.

Results: Out of 174 women included in the study, 21 women (12.07%) had POP. Seventeen of these women (81%) were symptomatic, of which only 6 women (35.3%) had sought treatment because of financial constraints. The odds of prolapse increased with increasing parity (P=0.02) and age (P<0.01). The main impacts of prolapse were on emotional well-being (52.4%), the women's relationship with their partner (46.2%), and sex life (25%).

Conclusion: Only about one-third of women with symptomatic prolapse sought treatment because the cost of medical care outweighed the impact of the condition on their lives.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources