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Treatment Seeking, Vaginal Discharge and Psychosocial Distress Among Women in Urban Mumbai

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Abstract

Vaginal discharge (safed pani in Hindi, meaning “white water”) is one of the leading symptoms for which women in India seek care. Treatment-seeking for safed pani is disproportionately high among poor women, representing a physical, emotional and financial burden for low-income families. Safed pani is only rarely indicative of a reproductive tract or sexually transmitted infection. The discrepancy between symptom reports and observed pathology has led some researchers to characterize safed pani as a culturally based expression of more generalized negative life situation. Data are drawn from two prevention intervention studies (2002–2006 and 2007–2012) conducted in economically marginal communities in Mumbai. Results show that husbands as problem generators and spousal abusers and women’s greater perceived empowerment and reported tension are significantly associated with safed pani. These results provide the basis for identifying women at greater risk for psychosocial distress and providing supports at the locations at which they seek treatment.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Pertti J. Pelto for his helpful comments on an early draft of this paper and Dr. Joe Burleson for his help with statistical analysis of the data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT, 06030-1912, USA

    Kristin M. Kostick & Stephen L. Schensul

  2. Topiwala National Medical College, Mumbai, India

    Kalpita Jadhav

  3. International Center for Research on Women, Mumbai, India

    Rajendra Singh & Amruta Bavadekar

  4. The Population Council, New Delhi, India

    Niranjan Saggurti

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  1. Kristin M. Kostick
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  2. Stephen L. Schensul
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Correspondence to Kristin M. Kostick.

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Kostick, K.M., Schensul, S.L., Jadhav, K. et al. Treatment Seeking, Vaginal Discharge and Psychosocial Distress Among Women in Urban Mumbai. Cult Med Psychiatry 34, 529–547 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-010-9185-8

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