Menstrual hygiene management among girls at a peri-urban senior high school in the Volta Region, Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Aku Baku ◽  
Victor Adrakpanya ◽  
Kennedy Diema Konlan ◽  
Peter Adatara
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Senior High School ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Volta Region ◽  
Sanitary Pads ◽  
Tract Infections

Background Young women and adolescent girls experience many challenges in their lives related to sanitation, hygiene, and menstruation. These challenges are often seen in a school setting and are more intense in peri-urban areas, where the infrastructure in educational institutions is often outpaced by the population, generating poor sanitary conditions. This can lead to adolescent girls contracting reproductive tract infections, such as candidiasis, as a result of poor menstrual hygiene. This study assessed menstrual hygiene management among students at a senior high school in the Volta Region, Ghana, in order to identify improvements to be made by school authorities to improve the health and comfort of students during menstruation. Methods This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among 265 students aged 13–22 years, who had attained menarche. A pretested, structured questionnaire was used to collect data on their menstruation knowledge and practices, and the available sanitary facilities for menstrual hygiene management in the school. This was followed by an evaluation of the available facilities using a survey process. The Pearson chi-squared test was used to test the association between a student's year group and their knowledge and practices. Results The majority of the girls had accurate knowledge on menstruation (52.8% reported the correct length of a woman's menses, 74.7% correctly reported that a woman's menses comes once a month). However, the majority (63%) of participants reported the belief that menstrual blood is unhygienic and this belief was significantly associated with year group (P<0.00). When reporting on their practices during menstruation, the majority (76.2%) bathed twice a day and most (47.2%) changed their sanitary product twice a day. The frequency of these practices was significantly associated with year group (P=0.017 and P≤0.00, respectively). Only one-third (33.6%) of girls reported always having access to water for washing when menstruating and only 24.9% reported always having access to soap. The survey of facilities revealed that there was no handwashing facility in the school. Conclusions There is a need for Ghanaian educational institutions to provide proper sanitary facilities and for parents to provide sanitary pads or towels, which will allow girls who are menstruating to be comfortable and free of reproductive health infections. To achieve this, school authorities should be educated on the importance of providing the necessary sanitary facilities and parents should be educated on the necessity of provision of sanitary pads.

scholarly journals Impact of pharmacist mediated educational program on knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 3083-3088
Author(s):  
Bhupalam Pradeepkumar ◽  
Narayana G ◽  
Haranath Chinthaginjala ◽  
Ramalingam P ◽  
Somasekhar Reddy K ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Educational Program ◽  
Hygiene Practice ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Sanitary Pads ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
Tract Infections ◽  
The Impact

In India, awareness about menstruation before menarche was low, and it is viewed as unclean or dirty in society. In adolescent girls who attained menstruation for the first time, menstrual hygiene management is constrained by social, practical and economic factors such as the expense of sanitary pads, lack of water facilities, lack of private rooms for changing sanitary pads, and limited education about the facts of menstrual hygiene. The practice of good menstrual hygiene reduces the incidence of reproductive tract infections. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of pharmacist mediated educational program on menstrual hygiene practice. An interventional study was carried out to assess the impact of menstrual hygiene practice on knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in backward areas of Andhra Pradesh, India. A self-administered questionnaire comprises socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge related to menstruation and menstrual hygiene practice was used to collect data. The collected data was analyzed to assess the knowledge related to the menstrual hygiene practice, school attendance during the menstrual period at baseline and after providing education on menstrual hygiene. The present study reveals that 52.52% of the participants had good knowledge about menstrual hygiene. Pharmacist mediated educational program showed great improvement on the practice of menstrual hygiene such as the use of sanitary pads was improved from 40.42% to 93.38%. After educational program school dropouts was greatly declined from 55.32% to 7.33%. Pharmacist mediated program had a positive impact on menstrual hygiene practice, Government of India need to conduct more educational programs on menstrual hygiene management at a community level.

scholarly journals Emerging issues and barriers in access to menstrual hygiene management in a tribal district of India

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1985
Author(s):  
Jyoti Kakwani ◽  
Jitendra Kumar Meena ◽  
Anjana Verma ◽  
Neha Dahiya
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Social Construct ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Tract Infections

Background: Access to Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) remains a critical challenge to Indian women especially in remote areas. The problem of poor availability, acceptance, and affordability of MHM products is further aggravated by negative social construct and environmental concerns. Poor menstrual hygiene is linked to significant morbidity and mortality due to reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and cervical cancer etc.Methods: A campaign “Chuppi Todo” was organized in Udaipur; a tribal district in Rajasthan aiming for menstrual health education of adolescent girls and mothers across public schools through interactive means. During the campaign interviews were conducted by trained field staff with participating girls to elicit perspectives related to menstrual hygiene and feedback of the education sessions.Results: Based on qualitative assesments it was observed that women largely ignore menstrual hygiene or follow old traditional practices. They don’t prefer using modern MHM products like sanitary pads etc owing to the difficulty in their disposal and embarrassment.Conclusions: The present study highlights existing knowledge gaps and barriers in providing universal access to MHM to adolescent girls and women living in remote areas in India.  

Menstrual Hygiene Management- A Study among Adolescent Girls in Five Schools in Bo District, Sierra Leone

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Augustus Osborne ◽  
◽  
Bashiru Mohamed Koroma ◽  
Camilla M Bangura ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Collection Data ◽  
Sanitary Pads ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Menstruation can place significant impacts on girl’s health and education if they are not properly informed about effective menstrual hygiene management. The present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge and practices of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in five schools in Bo district, Sierra Leone and to assess the restrictions practiced by them during menstruation. A cross sectional study design was carried out among 103 in November 2019. A self-administered structured questionnaire at schools was used for data collection. Data was collected regarding their knowledge about menstruation, from where they get information and practices followed to maintain menstrual hygiene, problems faced while attending school during menstruation and facilities available in school, etc. The analysis part was done with the help of SPSS version 25. Age of respondents varied between 12-21 years with the mean age of 16.5. 69.9% of the girls don’t know from were menstrual bleeding occurs. Majority of the girls are using sanitary pads as absorbent during menstruation. 42.7% of the girls said they have been restricted from praying when seeing their menses and 49.5% of the girls said they feel their school is uncomfortable to keep hygiene during menstruation. The findings led to the conclusion that the girls have deficient knowledge and inadequate practices regarding menstruation and its management.

scholarly journals A study of menstrual hygiene management in urban and rural adolescent girls in Ambala (Haryana)

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-123
Author(s):  
Shallu Garg ◽  
Anu Bhardwaj ◽  
Anshu Mittal ◽  
Suresh Bhonsla
Keyword(s):  
Sex Education ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Tract Infections

Background: Adolescent girls often lack knowledge regarding reproductive health including menstruation hygiene. Poor menstrual hygiene can be a precursor reproductive tract infections and even cancer cervix. Objectives: To study the menstrual hygiene management among rural and urban school going adolescent girls Material and Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 420 adolescent girls (10 - 19 years). A self-designed semi- structured questionnaire was used to study the knowledge and practise regarding menstrual hygiene. Results: Knowledge about menstruation before attainment of menarche was 69% in urban and 58.9% in rural. Mother was the main source of information. Still 23.6% girls were using cloth or towels as menstrual absorbent, and 26.6% girls in rural area were washing their menstrual absorbent to be reused.91.7% and 81% girls had some restriction during menstruation Conclusion:  Awareness in urban adolescent girls was more in comparison to rural girls. The usage of sanitary pads was similar in both rural and urban areas. Menstrual hygiene was better in urban than rural areas. It is imperative that adolescent girls be educated about the, significance of menstruation, and proper hygienic practices during menstruation. Sex education in school curriculum can help in resolving misconceptions about menstruation.

scholarly journals Understanding Period Poverty: Socio-Economic Inequalities in Menstrual Hygiene Management in Eight Low- and Middle-Income Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2571
Author(s):  
Laura Rossouw ◽  
Hana Ross
Keyword(s):  
Decomposition Methods ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Menstrual Health ◽  
Women And Girls ◽  
Sanitary Pads ◽  
Unequal Access

Menstrual hygiene management and health is increasingly gaining policy importance in a bid to promote dignity, gender equality and reproductive health. Effective and adequate menstrual hygiene management requires women and girls to have access to their menstrual health materials and products of choice, but also extends into having private, clean and safe spaces for using these materials. The paper provides empirical evidence of the inequality in menstrual hygiene management in Kinshasa (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rajasthan (India), Indonesia, Nigeria and Uganda using concentration indices and decomposition methods. There is consistent evidence of wealth-related inequality in the conditions of menstrual hygiene management spaces as well as access to sanitary pads across all countries. Wealth, education, the rural-urban divide and infrastructural limitations of the household are major contributors to these inequalities. While wealth is identified as one of the key drivers of unequal access to menstrual hygiene management, other socio-economic, environmental and household factors require urgent policy attention. This specifically includes the lack of safe MHM spaces which threaten the health and dignity of women and girls.

Menstrual Hygiene Management Practices for Adolescent Girls among Public Secondary Schools in Kibondo District, Tanzania

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (Issue 3) ◽  
pp. 107-115
Author(s):  
Renata Magayane ◽  
Jackson Meremo
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management

The study aimed at examining menstrual hygiene management practices among adolescent girls in public secondary schools in Kibondo District. The study used the mixed research approach with the convergent parallel design. The study was comprised of the sample size of 99 respondents from four out of 17 schools, including ten parents, 12 female teachers, 68 students, 4 matrons, 4 Heads of schools and 1 District Education Officer. Data collection was done through semi-structured interview, focus group discussion and questionnaire. Qualitative data analysis was done through content analysis while quantitative data were analyzed descriptively with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20 and presented in tables through percentages, and frequencies. The study discovered that there are problems in MHM practices among public secondary schools under investigation. There were shortages of menstrual hygiene management practice facilities such as toilets and private areas to change absorbent pads, disposable mechanisms and water. The study recommended that adolescent girls should be provided with sanitary pads and education. There is need to improve MHM facilities such as water, disposable mechanisms and private rooms for changing absorbent materials for effective management of menstrual periods. Menstrual hygiene management topics should be integrated into the syllabi in order to increase awareness on MHM to adolescent girls. Teachers and health workers should closely provide guidance and health talks to adolescent girls, advising them on how to manage their menstrual-related illness effectively for their good performance in school.

Menstrual hygiene management among visually impaired women

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-362
Author(s):  
Tuğba Dündar ◽  
Sevgi Özsoy
Keyword(s):  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Normal Cycle ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Start Date ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Practices ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Sanitary Pads

This descriptive study aimed to determine the menstrual hygiene management among visually impaired women. The study sample included 187 visually impaired women. Data were evaluated using descriptive statistics. Of the visually impaired women, 61.5% had knowledge of menstrual hygiene management. They obtained this information mostly from their mothers (49.5%). Of them, 95.7% used sanitary pads, 52.4% changed their sanitary pads less than four times a day. Only 52.9% of the women managed their menstrual hygiene dependently. Most of the women determined the start date of their menstrual cycle noticing the smell of blood and determined the end date monitoring the duration of their normal cycle. In conclusion, visually impaired women had difficulty in managing their menstrual periods independently, their menstrual hygiene practices were not at a desired level, almost half of them received support in menstrual hygiene management, most of them used some indicators to determine the start/end of their menstrual period.

scholarly journals Menstrual Hygiene, Management, and Waste Disposal: Practices and Challenges Faced by Girls/Women of Developing Countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajanbir Kaur ◽  
Kanwaljit Kaur ◽  
Rajinder Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Reproductive Tract Infections ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Sanitary Products ◽  
Tract Infections ◽  
At Home

Menstruation and menstrual practices still face many social, cultural, and religious restrictions which are a big barrier in the path of menstrual hygiene management. In many parts of the country especially in rural areas girls are not prepared and aware about menstruation so they face many difficulties and challenges at home, schools, and work places. While reviewing literature, we found that little, inaccurate, or incomplete knowledge about menstruation is a great hindrance in the path of personal and menstrual hygiene management. Girls and women have very less or no knowledge about reproductive tract infections caused due to ignorance of personal hygiene during menstruation time. In rural areas, women do not have access to sanitary products or they know very little about the types and method of using them or are unable to afford such products due to high cost. So, they mostly rely on reusable cloth pads which they wash and use again. Needs and requirements of the adolescent girls and women are ignored despite the fact that there are major developments in the area of water and sanitation. Women manage menstruation differently when they are at home or outside; at homes, they dispose of menstrual products in domestic wastes and in public toilets and they flush them in the toilets without knowing the consequences of choking. So, there should be a need to educate and make them aware about the environmental pollution and health hazards associated with them. Implementation of modern techniques like incineration can help to reduce the waste. Also, awareness should be created to emphasize the use of reusable sanitary products or the natural sanitary products made from materials like banana fibre, bamboo fibre, sea sponges, water hyacinth, and so on.

scholarly journals Menstrual Hygiene Practice among Adolescent Girls in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biniyam Sahiledengle ◽  
Daniel Atlaw ◽  
Abera Kumie ◽  
Yohannes Tekalegn ◽  
Demelash Woldeyohannes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Open Access Journals

Abstract Background: Adolescent girls face several challenges relating to menstruation and its proper management. Lack of adequate sanitary products, inadequate water supply, and privacy for changing sanitary pads continue to leave adolescent girls with limited options for safe and proper menstrual hygiene in many low-income settings, including Ethiopia. These situations are also compounded by societal myths, stigmas surrounding menstruation, and discriminatory social norms. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled proportion of safe menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in Ethiopia using the available studies. Methods: We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, African Journal Online (AJOL), Hinari, Science Direct, ProQuest, Direct of Open Access Journals, POPLINE, and Cochrane Library database inception to May 31, 2021. Studies reporting the proportion of menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in Ethiopia were considered. The Cochrane Q test statistics and I2 tests were used to assess the heterogeneity of the included studies. Since the included studies revealed considerable heterogeneity, a random effect meta-analysis model was used to estimate the pooled proportion of safe MHM. Results: Of 1,045 identified articles, 22 studies were eligible for analysis (n=12,330 participants). The overall pooled proportion (PP) of safe MHM in Ethiopia was 52.69% (95%CI: 44.16, 61.22). The use of commercial menstrual absorbents was common 64.63% (95%CI: 55.32, 73.93, I2 99.2%) followed by homemade cloth 53.03% (95%CI: 22.29,83.77, I2 99.2%). Disposal of absorbent material into the latrine was the most common practice in Ethiopia 62.18% (95%CI:52.87,71.49, I298.7%). One in four girls reported missing one or more school days during menstruation (PP: 32.03%, 95%CI: 22.65%, 41.40%, I2 98.2%). Conclusion: This study revealed that only half of the adolescent girls in Ethiopia had safe MHM practices. To ensure that girls in Ethiopia can manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity, strong gender-specific water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities along with strong awareness creation activities at every level are needed.

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