PERINAL pain, vaginal symptoms and sexual function in women in the post-partum period: systematic review and transcultural adaptation study

Abstract

Perineal pain after vaginal delivery is associated with impairment in sexual function, daily living activities, care given to the newborn, and the quality of life of the woman. The painful complaint can persist for days or months after birth. Nevertheless, the evidence regarding non-pharmacological treatments of this symptom is controversial and there is a lack of instruments available in Brazil for evaluation of vaginal symptoms and monitoring sexual function in the postpartum period. Thus, the present research project aims to synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of non-pharmacological resources used to relieve perineal pain after vaginal delivery (STUDY I) and to translate and cross-culturally adapt two instruments to evaluate vaginal symptoms (ICIQ-VS) and sexual function (ICIQ-FLUTSsex). Study one will follow the recommendations from PRISMA and Cochrane Collaboration for systematic reviews. Randomized controlled trials investigating the use of non-farmacological resources for pain relief in postpartum women with perineal pain will be included. The methodological quality will be analyzed using the PEDRO scale. The evidence synthesis will be performed through GRADE approach and the metanalysis will be applied in case of clinical homogeneity among the included studies. Studies II and III deal with a psychometric analysis of the ICIQ-VS and ICIQ-FLUTSsex questionnaires. Women who are up to 12 months vaginal postpartum will be recruited. The study will be carried out in two phases: the translation and transcultural adaptation of the scale (Phase 1) and the verification of psychometric properties of the scale composed of: factorial structure, construct validity and internal reliability (Phase 2). These studies are expected to contribute to the evidence-based practice in addition to identifying gaps in the scientific literature, providing a guideline for the development and improvement of future studies. In addition, the instruments available after the conclusion of studies II and III will contribute to the evaluation of vaginal symptoms and sexual function in clinical practice and in scientific research, making it possible to broaden the dialogue between researches developed in Brazil and in other countries of the world. (AU)