Påverkan på livskvalitén hos kvinnor med vestibulodyni

Sammanfattning: Background: Vestibulodynia involves a prolonged state of pain characterized by intense pain around the vulva area. This pain may occur during sexual intercourse but can also be triggered by non-sexual activities. The condition was previously called vestibulitis. The occurrence of vestibulodynia is probably unreported in Sweden and internationally. Different professions meet these patients in all parts of the healthcare chain. Understanding the patient's condition is important to provide optimal care. Aim: To investigate the impact of quality of life amongst women with vestibulodynia from a physiological, psychological and social perspective. Method: Literature review including 11 quantitative original articles with quantitative studies. The databases CINAHL, PubMed and PsycINFO were used. The quality of the articles were of high and medium quality, published between 2015-2019. Orem ́s nursing theory were used as the theoretical framework. Results: The result of this literature review showed that vestibulodynia had a negative impact on women's physiological, psychological and social quality of life. The women scored high points on the numerical pain scale. In addition to pain in the vulva area, they also had tension in the jaw area, which caused headache. From the psychological perspective, women were affected by higher levels of depression, anxiety and fatigue. From the social perspective, women's relationships were adversely affected, such as decreased sexual satisfaction and sexual desire. They had also anxiety during sexual situations or anxiety at the idea of sexual situations. Conclusion: Vestibulodynia is a health problem because the prevalence is high and probably unrecorded. Knowledge about the disease needs to increase at the individual level, the community level, the education level and among healthcare professionals. More qualitative research is needed to describe women's experience of the disease, but also to investigate the attitude among healthcare professionals. Knowledge of the condition needs to be increased to find these women at an early stage of the disease.