‘It’s not just thrush, it’s recurrent thrush’: a qualitative study of patient and clinician perspectives on diagnosing recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis

Tori Ford; Sue Ziebland; Sarah Tonkin-Crine; Gail Hayward; Abigail McNiven

doi:10.3399/BJGP.2025.0437

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Figure 1. The jigsaw puzzle of diagnosing possible recurrent vulvovaginal thrush. HCP = healthcare professional.

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Table 1. Characteristics of patient participants

Name	Age	Gender^a	Ethnicity^a	Duration (years)	Swab results
KJ	42	Gender fluid	White British	>10	Positive
Ayesha	25	Woman	Pakistani	4	Negative
Teddy	21	Non-binary	White British	3	None taken
Nancy	37	Woman	White British	6	Positive
Emily	32	Woman	White British	10, resolved	Positive
Aditi	22	Woman	Indian British	2, resolved	None taken
Sai	24	Woman	Indian	4	None taken
Ella	50	Non-binary	White British	6	Positive
Nysha	40	Woman	Black British	>10	Positive
Beth	25	Woman	White British	10	Positive
Laura	42	Woman	White British	>10	Positive
Imani	35	Woman	Black African	2, resolved	None taken
Jody	26	Woman	White British	5	Positive
Elliott	30	Trans man	White British	2	Positive
Billie	25	Woman	White British	7	Positive
Joy	43	Woman	White British	9 months	None taken
Sasha	34	Woman	Black African	1	None taken
Zoya	33	Woman	Pakistani	3	Positive
Kayla	42	Woman	White British	6	Candida glabrata
Lydia	26	Woman	White British	1	Candida glabrata
Leah	26	Woman	White British	10	Positive
Anna	34	Woman	Mixed race	10, resolved	Positive
Georgia	27	Woman	White British	4	Positive
Emma	41	Woman	White British	>10, resolved	Positive
Marie	60	Woman	White British	5	Negative
Harry	25	Woman	White British	2	Positive
Julia	36	Woman	White British	>10	Positive
Hannah	31	Woman	White British/Polish	2	Positive
Chloe	30	Woman	White British	>10	Positive
Imogen	29	Woman	White British	>10, resolved	Positive
Rowan	24	Woman	White British	2, resolved	Positive
Sarah	35	Woman	White British	10	Positive

^aGender and ethnicity were self-identified.

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Table 2. Characteristics of healthcare professional participants

Name	Role	Age	Gender^a	Ethnicity^a	Experience (years)	Location
GP1 Dr A	GP partner	52	Woman	White British	25	Oxford
GP2 Dr B	Foundation year doctor	24	Woman	White British	2	Plymouth
GP6 Dr F	GP	35	Woman	White British	7	Oxford
GP8 Dr H	GP	32	Woman	British Pakistani	2	Leicester
GP9 Ms I	Physician associate	35	Woman	Indian	10	South Yorkshire
GP11 Dr K	GP	51	Woman	White British	13	Oxford, Shetland
GP13 Dr M	GP partner	33	Woman	White Irish	10	Stalybridge
GP16 Dr P	GP partner	44	Woman	White British	11	London
GP17 Dr Q	GP	53	Woman	White British	22	Clitheroe
GP18 Dr R	GP	37	Woman	White British	6	Birmingham
GP20 Dr T	GP	36	Man	White British	3	Manchester
GP21 Dr U	GP	33	Man	Black African	8	Nottingham
GP23 Dr W	GP	35	Woman	British Chinese	5	Stockport
GP24 Dr X	GP community gynaecology	40	Woman	White British	12	Oxford
SH3 Ms C	Registered nurse	31	Woman	White British	5	Manchester
SH4 Dr D	SH consultant	38	Man	White British	13	London
SH5 Dr E	SH doctor	34	Man	Asian British	4	London
SH7 Dr G	SH doctor	43	Man	Asian	15	London
SH10 Dr J	GUM consultant	59	Woman	White Other	29	London
SH12 Dr L	SH doctor	32	Woman	Black/White	3.5	London
SH14 Dr N	SH consultant	42	Woman	White Irish	15	Manchester, Glasgow
SH15 Dr O	SH consultant	47	Woman	White British	16	Devon
SH19 Dr S	SH doctor, GP registrar	29	Woman	Asian/White	2.5	Cornwall
SH22 Dr V	SH doctor	38	Woman	White British	9	Manchester
SH25 Dr Y	SH associate specialist	59	Woman	White British	15	Sussex

^aGender and ethnicity were self-identified. GUM = genitourinary medicine. SH = sexual health.

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‘It’s not just thrush, it’s recurrent thrush’: a qualitative study of patient and clinician perspectives on diagnosing recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis

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‘It’s not just thrush, it’s recurrent thrush’: a qualitative study of patient and clinician perspectives on diagnosing recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis

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