Women's sexual and reproductive health in post-socialist Georgia: does internal displacement matter?

Context: Persons displaced by armed conflicts, natural disasters or other events are at increased risk for health problems. The Republic of Georgia has a substantial population of internally displaced women who may face elevated risks of STIs and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).

Methods: The 1999 Georgia Reproductive Health Survey was used to examine the prevalence of self-reported STI and PID diagnoses among displaced and nondisplaced sexually experienced women. Multivariate analyses were conducted to determine whether displacement is associated with STI and PID risk, and whether the behavioral and socioeconomic factors associated with these diagnoses differ between internally displaced women and the general population.

Results: In models that controlled for behavioral factors only, displacement was associated with elevated odds of PID diagnosis (odds ratio, 1.3), but the relationship was only marginally significant when socioeconomic factors were added (1.3). Displacement was not associated with STI diagnosis. The factors associated with STI and PID diagnoses among displaced women generally differed from those in the general population, but access to medical care and previous STI diagnosis were associated with PID diagnosis in both groups. Among nondisplaced women, residing in the capital city was associated with increased odds of STI diagnosis (2.2) but reduced odds of PID diagnosis (0.8).

Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of displacement status in determining a woman's reproductive health risks, and underscore the complex relationships between behavioral and socioeconomic variables and the elevation of STI and PID risk.