ArticleCulture, health & sexuality2019
'You'll always stay right': understanding vaginal products and the motivations for use among adolescent and young women in rural KZN.
Article in Culture, health & sexuality, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Combined impact of recent sexual activity and vaginal product use on genital immune activation in South African women: implications for HIV risk.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Differences in HIV risk factors between South African adolescents and adult women and their association with sexually transmitted infections.Sexually transmitted infections · 2025Observational
- Exploring the female genital tract mycobiome in young South African women using metaproteomics.Microbiome · 2025Article
- Ecology meets reproductive medicine in HIV prevention: the case for geography-informed approaches for bacterial vaginosis in Africa.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2024Review
- Consideration of Cultural Practices When Characterizing the Vaginal Microbiota Among African and African American Women.Biological research for nursing · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The use of vaginal products may increase the risk of HIV infection by affecting the vaginal biome. Understanding what vaginal products young women are using, and why, is key to assessing the complexity of sexual health and risk. This study reports on findings from research with adolescent and young women in rural KwaZulu-Natal about the vaginal products they use and motivations for using them. The study identified over 26 products that young women used to enhance their sexual experience and found some young women spent time preparing and sourcing vaginal products in order to pleasure and retain partners. Opinions differed about vaginal product use. While some women perceived that vaginal products could provide a means of out-performing other women, retaining a partner and providing sexual autonomy, there was a stigma attached to using them. Study findings highlight the social value of using vaginal products, especially in settings where partner retention is linked to economic survival. Expanding our understanding of what products are used and the reasons young women use them warrants continued investigation.
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