The frequency and determinants of reproductive tract infections in married women of rural areas of Khyber Agency KPK.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the awareness, causal factors and frequency of occurrence of reproductive tract infections among married women of rural areas. Study Design: Quantitative Descriptive study. Setting: MTI-HMC/KGMC Hayatabad Peshawar. Period: April 2025 to July 2025. Methods: Married women of reproductive age (16-45 years) were interviewed for their reproductive tract infections. The women were questioned about their symptoms, frequency and knowledge about RTI’s. The questionnaire was filled through Google forms. The study used the World Health Organization's (WHO) syndromic approach guideline to collect information on previous RTI symptoms. SPSS software was used for the analysis. Results: In about 130 women in rural areas, 58.5% women had been aware of the term Reproductive tract infection while 41.5% women had never heard of it. When asked about their knowledge of information about transmission of RTI’s out of 130 only 32.3% women had knowledge regarding it. The study also collected data of their menstrual hygiene in which 72.3% of the women were using reusable cloth. 63.1% of the women were not using contraceptive methods among the population. The major symptoms of RTI that they were facing were vaginal discharge and vaginal itching followed by dysuria and dyspareunia. The frequency of RTI was found to be 56.9% among married women of Khyber agency in which 43.1% percent of the females had a recurrence. Conclusion: The frequency of RTI’s was very high among rural women of Khyber Agency and the main reason behind it was the lack of awareness, lack of knowledge of its prevention and transmission, low menstrual hygiene status and limited access to healthcare.