Uncovering the challenges to menstrual health: Knowledge, attitudes and practices of adolescent girls in government schools of Delhi

Background: Menstrual hygiene management is a significant issue affecting the health of women around the world. Lack of knowledge and awareness about menstruation and the silence surrounding it is a risk factor for all women. Objective: The objectives of this study were to elicit the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of adolescent girls (13–15 years) regarding issues related to menstruation and to assess the barriers that prevent them from practising menstrual hygiene. Design and Setting: Cross-sectional study involving 187 adolescent girls from four government schools of Delhi. Method: Information was obtained using a mixed-methods approach, including a pretested questionnaire and focus group discussions with girls, parents and school staff. Results: Only 40% of girls were aware of menstruation prior to menarche. The majority of girls (95.7%) did not know the source of menstrual blood. About two-thirds (65.8%) of girls were unaware that the menstrual blood flow could be affected by anaemia. Approximately 17% of the girls believed a woman to be impure during menstruation. About half of the girls absented themselves from school for the first 2–3 days of their menstrual cycle. Thirty-four percent girls did not bathe at all during their menstrual period and a similar number of girls did not bathe daily while menstruating. Dysmenorrhoea was a common problem among 60% of girls. The mothers of girls were identified as the major source of information about menstruation. However, mothers believed that school teachers should also be imparting this knowledge. Teachers expressed the belief that menstrual hygiene was poor among girls. The provision of free sanitary napkins in school has improved hygiene levels. Conclusion: Strategic behaviour change interventions should be designed involving all stakeholders to ensure a sustained change in knowledge, attitude and practices so as to ensure the better health of adolescent girls.

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Menstrual Hygiene Practice and School Absenteeism among Rural Adolescent girls of Kalikot district

Nepal Medical College Journal ◽

10.3126/nmcj.v21i4.27614 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 258-264

Author(s):

D Ranabhat ◽

S Nepal ◽

B. Regmi

Keyword(s):

High School Students ◽

Menstrual Cycle ◽

Adolescent Girls ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Hygiene Practice ◽

School Absenteeism ◽

School Students ◽

Government Schools ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Menstrual Hygiene

Menstruation is a part of female reproductive cycle that starts when girls become sexually mature at the time of puberty. This study sought to assess the menstrual hygiene practice and school absenteeism among the rural school going adolescent girls. A descriptive cross-sectional study was done among 321 female high school students of 4 selected government schools of Kalikot a rural district of Nepal. It was found that majority of student’s menstrual hygiene practice was poor i.e. 86.9%. Majority of respondents (96 %) used clean cloth during their menstruation cycle, whereas only 4% of respondents used sanitary pad. Almost every adolescent girl i.e. 98.8 % practiced any cultural restriction. Nearly 1 in 4 respondents (22.1%) did not attend school during their last menstruation and more than 1 in 10 adolescent girls felt that their academic performance was degraded after menarche. Adolescent girls of 10-14 age group were three time more likely to have poor practice than those who were between 15-19 years. Adolescent girls from nuclear families are 1.9 times more likely to be absent from school during the menstrual cycle in comparison to girls from joint families. The study revealed that among the adolescent girls of the study area, the overall menstrual hygiene practice was found to be poor and the various beliefs were found to be inappropriate and school absenteeism was also prevalent during menstrual cycle.

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Factors that Influence Menstrual Hygiene Management in Adolescent Girls in Mudon Township, Mon State, Myanmar

Journal of Health Science and Medical Research ◽

10.31584/jhsmr.2021778 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nwe Nwe Htun ◽

Orapin Laosee ◽

Cheerawit Rattanapan

Keyword(s):

Adolescent Girls ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Menstrual Hygiene ◽

Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽

Hygiene Practices ◽

Hygiene Management

Objective: The study assessed the underlying factors that influence menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in adolescent girls, and how it can have an effect on the girls’ education, health and daily life.Material and Methods: A community-based, quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted through face-to-face interviews, with 410 adolescent girls. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were applied, to describe and predict significant associations and predictors between MHM and its independent variables; such as knowledge, attitudes and practices related to menstruation, and accessibility of MHM facilities.Results: More than half of the respondents had poor MHM levels. Menstrual knowledge [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)= 2.17, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.32-3.56], attitude towards menstruation (AOR=1.65, 95% CI: 1.11-2.46), menstrual hygiene practices (AOR=2.53, 1.78-3.98) and the accessibility of MHM facilities (AOR=2.44, 95% CI: 1.29-4.62) were the factors associated with MHM. Girls with poor MHM levels were 1.1 times more likely to be affected in their daily activities, as compared to those with good MHM levels.Conclusion: The adolescent girls participating in the study were still unable to manage their menstrual hygiene well, owing to their inadequate knowledge in relation to menstruation, unhealthy menstrual hygiene practices; and the limited accessibility to MHM facilities. Establishment of such correlation necessitates; for instance, setting up a menstrual health education program as well as provision of MHM facilities, will enable the adolescent girls in Mudon Township, Mon State, Myanmar to minimize the negative impacts on their daily lives.

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A study of menstrual hygiene and related personal hygiene practices among adolescent girls in rural Puducherry

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20172822 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (7) ◽

pp. 2348 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hema Priya S. ◽

Partha Nandi ◽

Seetharaman N. ◽

Ramya M. R. ◽

Nishanthini N. ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Adolescent Girls ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Personal Hygiene ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Menstrual Hygiene ◽

Hygiene Practices ◽

Urinary Infections ◽

Menstrual Health ◽

Sanitary Pads ◽

The Right

Background: Adolescent population occupies 1/5th of world’s population and in India 20.9% of the population falls into this age group. Social prohibitions and traditional beliefs blocked the access to get the right kind of information to adolescent girls that led to poor hygiene practices. These practices results in harbouring of micro-organisms that increases susceptibility to genito-urinary infections. Hence this study was conducted to study the menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls and in rural Puducherry.Objectives: To study the menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls in rural Puducherry.Methodology: A community based descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in rural field practicing area of MGMCRI, Puducherry, from 15th of March 2013 to 31st April 2014 by using semi-structured questionnaire. 528 adolescent girls were included by complete enumeration.Results: Majority (89.2%) of the adolescent girls was using sanitary pads, fresh and reusable cloths were used by 6.6% and 4.2%, respectively. 65.3% girls changed their soaked absorbent 2-5 times in a day. Majority (60.8%) of the girls disposed their used absorbent by burying or burning. 67.9% girls were washing genitalia during micturition. 54.4% used soap and water for hand cleaning purpose and 1.4% used ash & mud etc.Conclusions: Even though sanitary pad users were high, unhygienic practices were noticed, so more emphasize is needed to be given on awareness of menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls.Key words: Adolescent girls, menstrual health and hygiene, sanitary pads, genito-urinary illness.

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Menstrual Hygiene: Practice and Challenges Among Adolescent girls of a Private School of Urban Nepal

Asian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3126/ajms.v10i4.24432 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 39-43

Author(s):

Neeti Singh ◽

Ang Tshering Sherpa ◽

Srijana Pandey ◽

Amita Pradhan

Keyword(s):

Adolescent Girls ◽

Private School ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Vital Role ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Urban Sector ◽

Menstrual Hygiene ◽

Hygiene Management ◽

Menstrual Health ◽

Family Beliefs

Background: Menstrual health hygiene management (MHM) is the basic right of every female. In developing countries like Nepal, this right is less understood or utilized. Parental and family influences and hence the societal influences plays vital role in behavioral change. In urban sector, the girls studying in the private schools are mostly from privileged background. So there is a need to observe the pattern of practices among private school girls which reflects the scenarios in privileged urban sector. Aims and Objectives: This study is to explore the practices and challenges for menstrual health hygiene management among adolescent girls of a Private school in Urban Nepal. Material and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in a private school selected purposely in the month of April and May 2019. Girls from grade seven and above were included in the study. Results: All the girls were aware about the process of menstruation. The practices and believes were influenced by their family and facilities provided to them rather knowledge gained at school. All the participants prefer to use disposal pads and 6.3% of participants reported that they use both pads and reusable cloths. Most girls did not change the pads at school (56.2%). All the participants reported that they were hesitant to take help from teachers due to awkwardness. Conclusions: Practices of the individuals is influenced by family beliefs. Again, adolescents spend many hours daily in schools. So strict measures to implement facility in schools for MHM should be taken.

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Poor management of menstrual hygiene: a leading cause of school absenteeism among adolescent girls in the urban slum of Madhya Pradesh

International Journal of Reproduction Contraception Obstetrics and Gynecology ◽

10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20204295 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 4102

Author(s):

Surya Bali ◽

Sembagamuthu Sembiah ◽

Kriti Yadav ◽

Jayeeta Burman

Keyword(s):

Adolescent Girls ◽

Urban Slum ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Madhya Pradesh ◽

School Absenteeism ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Menstrual Hygiene ◽

Women Health ◽

Hygiene Practices ◽

Menstrual Health

Background: Despite the strides made in the field of adolescent and women health, menstrual problems remain a stigma. Unsatisfactory menstrual hygiene practices have a profound influence on the adolescent girl’s health and academic performance. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the relationship between school absenteeism and poor MHM and its impacts on school girl’s day to day lives.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 384 adolescent girls enrolled in anganwadi centres of the urban slum of Madhya Pradesh from January to June 2018. A pre-designed and pretested questionnaire used to collect the data regarding menstrual hygiene practices and school absenteeism. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software (version 16.0. Chicago, SPSS Inc.).Results: The study found that around two-thirds (64.3%) and nearly one third (30%) of the participants were using a simple cloth and sanitary pads. About half (50.6%) of the respondents miss their school during the menstruation. Majority of them perceived that menstruation interferes with their school performance. The main reason for missing the schools was fear/ shame of leakage. In multivariable regression lack of sanitary facilities and painful menstruation remained significant predictors of school absenteeism.Conclusions: There is a dire need to fortify efforts directed towards increasing awareness on menstrual hygiene, to revamp the existing measures for improving menstrual health of the adolescent girls. Focused attention is warranted by policymakers to improve the quality of life of this vulnerable group.

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