Nursing

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Browsing Nursing by Author "Chapula, Alice"

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    Perceptions among women undergoing Hysterectomy at Mzuzu Central Hospital
    (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, 2009-12-04) Chapula, Alice
    Hysterectomy is a procedure that needs women understand it. Much emphasis should be on the reasons for conducting the procedure in relation to their health problems. In Malawi a lot of women undergo hysterectomy because of their different health problems involving the uterus. The aim of the study was to find out the perceptions among women undergoing hysterectomy. Specifically, it aimed at identifying the knowledge the women had on hysterectomy, the health problems women undergoing hysterectomy experienced and their perceived benefits as well as their perceived challenges. The study employed the qualitative study method. It was conducted at Mzuzu Central Hospital from fifteen women who were scheduled to go for hysterectomy. The data was collected using an interview guide which took forty-five minutes per participants. The data collected was analysed manually. The significance of the study was to help health workers to identify the fears women undergoing hysterectomy had, origin of the fears which could help to deal with such fears by providing health education in relation their problems. The findings indicated that the fears participants had were divorce, inability to enjoy sexual intercourse, end of womanhood, not getting married, not having children, stigma and death during surgery. The participants had knowledge of hysterectomy as they were able to explain the indications of hysterectomy such as ruptured uterus, cervical cancer, fibroids of the uterus and uterine prolapse. The common problems identified from the participants requiring hysterectomy were cancer of the cervix, uterine fibroids, uterine prolapse representing 40% (n=6), 26.67% (n=4), 20% (n=. 3) respectively. These participants seek treatment when they had no alternatives and firstly they were treated as having STIs. It was therefore recommended that women undergoing hysterectomy should be equipped with adequate information of hysterectomy, complications that may come because of delay the procedure, benefits, management of challenges and what they will experience after the procedure such as menopause and its management. [n addition, clients attending STI clinic should be examined properly ruling out cervical cancer through screening as well as fibroids through abdominal ultrasound hence appropriate management may be provided earlier.