Female Genital Mutilation: In the Role of Health Professionals in Prevention, Assessment, and Management

Female Genital Mutilation: In the Role of Health Professionals in Prevention, Assessment, and Management
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Purpose of Research
The World Health Organization defines Female Genital Mutilation as any procedure that involves partial or total removal of external parts of female genitalia or the non-medical infliction of injury to these organs. The purpose of this research is to identify how female genital mutilation, being a worldwide problem poses medical complications in the lives of the victims and how the medical sector addresses these complication issues (Christoffersen-Deb, 2005). Factors like different types of FGM, their relationship to different cultures and the efforts being taken by health organizations and health professionals to reduce cases of female genital mutilation are explored in this paper. Sources of information include previous published research papers and online medical publications on sites like PubMed which is a trusted medical search engine. Published scholarly articles from Google Scholar were also used as a source of information for this research.
The importance of this research paper is to find out why FGM is still rampant in most parts of Africa and in which parts its prevalence continues to pose a problem for health professionals in these countries. Population based data on female genital mutilation prevalence estimates that between 100 and 140 million girls and women suffer from FGM related injuries and an average of three million females are at risk of genital mutilation each year in these countries (Daley, 2015). Organizations in these countries in conjunction with international organizations which have taken action against these practices will also be highlighted in this research.
Background Information
Types of studies examined
Due to the depth of the topic of study and the challenges that would be involved in the collection of data first hand since the research was based on practices in different countries, texts and published research papers were the main sources of data. Case studies and case reports based on different countries were examined in order to carry out this research. Peer reviewed journals about the global impacts of female genital mutilation also played a major role in this research. Medical classifications of these procedures provided insight on complications and reasons why these complications were considered a challenge to medical professionals all over the world (Goldenstein, 2013). Demographic data about the distribution of ethnic communities in countries with high numbers of FGM cases were also among the types of studies involved in gathering information regarding this research.
Areas that threatened the validity and readability of studies
The validity and reliability of data collected through these types of studies was threatened by the availability of different information regarding studies in similar populations. In order to come up with a more accurate result, a large number of these reports and research publications had to be extensively studied in order to distinguish the amount of consistency maintained. Studies with inconclusive data however are widely spread and it is significantly difficult to single them out due to the fact that they also addressed the same problem. Ignoring them however, would have led to inconclusive data and consequently, inconclusive results.
Participants included in studies examined
The main participants involved in the study were women and who had experienced female genital mutilation and minors who were part of communities that were known to practice FGM. In order to gain access to these participants, medical and legal records and reports regarding these victims were used as references. Since formulating control groups would have been a challenge, these participants were grouped first based on their countries of origin, then the ethnic communities they came from. This way, measuring the concentration of these participants based on their geographical orientation became more convenient.
Summary of participants used in the studies examined
In general, most of the participants were girls and women aged between 15 and 30 years. In cases that involved complications caused by female genital mutilation, women with children who had reported gynecological complications during birth and after birth were examined. Other complications used to classify participants were reported and estimated FGM related disorders that affected them if they were not mothers. Medical qualifications and techniques used by initiators of these practices were used to estimate the relationship between health professionals and the rate of FGM in these countries (Horowitz & Jackson, 1997).
Data collection methods
Most data was collected from statistical information in these reports and were placed in relevant tables based on their origin and time of occurrence.
Major Results
Results showed that the prevalence of female genital mutilation was still high in the countries studied. It was also found that the surgeons behind female genital mutilation procedures were highly unqualified. Efforts by governments and legal procedures procured by these governments were still significantly ineffective due to social pressures from communities that practiced FGM (Kaplan et al., 2013).
Major conclusions
The management and prevention of female genital mutilation by health professionals was challenged by lack of financial support and lack of government resources. In most of these countries legal procedures meant to control and address these practices were disregarded or entirely non-existent. The absence of a legal framework made it quite challenging for health professionals to curb these problems.
Next steps that should be examined in the literature
According to the research, it is clear that the medical sector will continue to tackle cases of FGM related complications. The steps being taken by governments and health professionals to deal with this practice should be examined and reasons w...