scholarly journals Menstrual hygiene: knowledge and practice among adolescent school girls in rural settings

Author(s):  
Gitanjali Kapoor ◽  
Dinesh Kumar

Background: Menstrual hygiene is an issue that every girl and women must deal within her life, but there is lack of awareness on the process of menstruation and proper requirements for managing menstruation among adolescent girls. The objectives of present study are to assess the knowledge and the practices of menstrual hygiene among the rural school going adolescent girls and to assess the restrictions practiced by adolescent school going girls during menstruation.Methods: It was a community based cross-sectional study. The present study was undertaken among the adolescent school going girls in the Govt. Higher Secondary School in Marh block of Jammu district. 132 girls of the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th standard of the school was selected for the study. A predesigned, pretested and structured questionnaire was used in the study. The data collection technique was a personnel interview of the study subjects.Results: The mean age of menarche in the study subjects was 13.43 years. It was evident that only 65 (49.24%) of the participants were aware about menstruation before menarche and the most important source of the information about menstruation for them was found to be their mothers.  59.09% girls used sanitary pads only, 27.27% used new cloth and 13.64% used old washed cloth.  98.48% of the respondents followed some restriction or taboo during menstruation. 93.18% had daily bath. Regular hand washing was present in 90.91% subjects of which 86.36% subjects used soap and water for hand washing.  Regular cleaning of the external genitalia was present in 65.91% subjects only, of which 66.67% used soap and water and 33.33% used only water.Conclusions: There is a need to educate the girls about menstruation, its importance and hygiene maintenance; to enable them to lead a healthy reproductive life in future.

Author(s):  
Neerja Agarwal ◽  
Nutan Soni ◽  
S. P. Singh ◽  
G. P. Soni

Background: Adolescent age group among girls have been recognized as a special period which signifies the transition from girlhood to womanhood. Menstruation is generally considered as unclean in the Indian society. Most of the adolescent girls had incomplete and inaccurate information about the menstrual physiology and hygiene as reported by many Indian studies. Very few authors have included the detailed aspects of the menstrual practices among adolescent girls.Methods: The current Community based cross sectional study was conducted by department of obstetrics and Gynaecology in connection with department of community medicine, Raipur Institute of Medical Science, Raipur (C.G), India. Among the adolescent school going girls in the field practice area of the Rural Health Unit and Training Centre during study period of 6 month from July 2017 to December 2017. 263 girls from the above mentioned schools, of the 8th and 9th standards, were selected for the study.Results: Majority of the school going adolescent girls belongs to 13 and 14 year of age. 50.95% , 21.67% and 12.93% girls reported that they had their menarche at the age of 13 year, 12 year and 14 year respectively. Majority of the girls were using cloth (49.81%) and only 17.87% were using sanitary napkins. Cleaning of external genitalia was not satisfactory in 32.70% of the girls. Only 58.17% girls used both soap and water for cleaning the genitalia. Pain in abdomen (59.70%) was found to be the most frequent complaint during menstruation.Conclusions: Knowledge on menstruation is sub-optimal and the practices are unacceptable for proper hygiene among study subjects. Menstrual hygiene is an important issue needs to be ensured.


Author(s):  
Nur Aizati Athirah Daud ◽  
Veronica GK Williams ◽  
Zuraidah Daut ◽  
Zaharah Sulaiman

Introduction: Menstruation is the sign of menarche for female adolescents. Previous finding had reported a need for education to improve the knowledge on menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls living in rural Kelantan. However, the access of sanitary pads and the effect of menstruation on school attendance among this population have not been reported elsewhere.Objectives: To determine the prevalence of sanitary pads usage and school absenteeism among adolescent girls in rural Kelantan.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among female students of Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Dangar in Pasir Mas, Kelantan between February and March 2019. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire in Bahasa Malaysia, which were administered by the school counselor.Results: A total of 172 respondents filled the questionnaires, with a mean age of 15 years (s.d. 1.4, range 13 to 17). Nearly half of them (n=78, 45.3%) are the daughters of laborers. Majority of them have fathers and mothers with the highest education level of SPM/STPM, while 7% have fathers with no proper schooling. Their mean age of menarche is 12. Majority of them claimed to use disposable sanitary pad (n=148, 87.2%) and would be wearing it every time during menstruation (n=148, 86.0%), while 4.7% used cloth pad. 40 (23.3%) of respondents would only stay at home during menstruation, mainly because they felt uncomfortable (5.8%) or having period pain (4.1%). 25 (14.5%) of the respondents used to be absent from school during menstruation, mainly due to period pain (12.2%).Conclusion: Disposable sanitary pad usage is highly prevalent among adolescents in this rural area, while menstruation have caused some of them to be absent from school.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2019 Page: 49


Author(s):  
Anjana Tiwari ◽  
Indu Jyotsna Ekka ◽  
Rajni Thakur

Background: Poor menstrual hygiene practices result into adverse health outcome in terms of increased vulnerability to reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and its consequences. The objective of present study was to assess the Knowledge and Practices regarding menstrual hygiene among adolescent school girls.Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional study was done among adolescent girls of class VII, VIII, IX and X (who attained menarche) in Government higher secondary school, station Murhipar, Rajnandgaon (C.G.) during September 2017 to October 2017 (two months) using a pre-designed, pre-tested questionnaire. Statistical analysis: Collected data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage).Results: A total of 141 adolescent school girls in the age group 12 to 17 years participated in this study. The mean age of menarche of the respondents was 12.9 years (range 11-15 years). Majority of girls (85.8%) were aware about menstruation prior to attainment of menarche. Mother was the first informant in case of 55.4% girls. Majority of girls (90.1%) practiced different restrictions during menstruation. Only 2.1% girls used sanitary pads during menstruation. Regarding hygienic practices, only 29.8% of girls change their cloths/pads three and above times per day and 98.6% girls had daily bath with soap during menstruation. Satisfactory hand washing with soap and water after changing pad during menstruation was present in 96.4%. Cleanliness of external genitalia was satisfactory in case of 80.1% girls.Conclusions: The adolescent girls need to be educated about fact of menstruation and menstrual hygiene practices in order to improve the menstrual hygiene.


Author(s):  
Shantanu Sharma ◽  
Devika Mehra ◽  
Charu Kohli ◽  
M. M. Singh

Background: Menarche is an important milestone in the life of a girl which signifies the onset of fertility in a woman. To understand the health consequences and importance of menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls, it is important to study the current practices about the same so that future interventions can be planned accordingly.Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional study design. A total of 85 adolescent girls (10-19 years old) were interviewed by the investigator over a period of 3 months (Jan-Mar 2015). Data were analyzed using the software SPSS version 17.Results: Out of 85 adolescent girls studied, the majority was between 15 to 19 years. In our study 71(83.5%) out of 85 adolescent girls had already started their menstruation. The mean (±SD) age of menarche in the study subjects was 11.4±5.3 years. Around 33 out of 71 (46.4%) girls practiced different restrictions during menstruation. Out of 71 (85.9%) girls used sanitary pads during menstruation. In cases of reused cloth, the place of its drying was observed, responses stated were; outside the house in sunlight in 1 (5.8%) girl, 14 (82.2%) dried them inside the house, and 2 (11.7%) girls dried them outside in a dark place.Conclusions: It is imperative to strengthen the menstrual hygiene management (MHM) programs of the country and have a greater outreach. Multiple strategies need to be used to address this such as education on reproductive health and menstruation provided in schools, media campaign’s and improving water and sanitation for improving school retention of adolescent girls and their overall health.


1970 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
Shama Nawaz ◽  
Rozina Khalid ◽  
Nandlal Serani

Background: Menstruation is a major stage of puberty in girls, one of the many physical signs that a girl is turning into a woman. Women having better knowledge about menstrual hygiene and safe practices are less vulnerable to RTI and its consequences. Therefore, increased knowledge about menstruation right from childhood may escalate practices and may help in mitigating the suffering of millions of women. This study carried out to gather information regarding menstruation, hygiene related practices and its related problems among adolescent girls along with to review perceptions, belief and expectations regarding menstruation among adolescent girls. Methods: A Cross-sectional study was conducted, 314 girls of 12 to 15 years were identified as sample from 5 girls high schools. Pre tested pre designed questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed by using SPSS (Version 22). Descriptive statistics used to determine mean age of the subjects, age at menarche, frequency of menstrual disorders and activities affected by this condition. Results: Mean age of the sample was 14.25 years, with mean age of menarche 12.6 years. 52.6% of the girls belong to the mothers who are illiterate. 50.7% girls were aware of menstruation before menarche with major source of the information is mother (71.2%). 97.8% perceived menstruation as a normal process. 55.1% participants said they missed their school during menstruation. 96.4% experiencing pain and cloth was most common source of absorbent used by 60.2%. Conclusion: Mothers are the main source of information for young girls. Major reason for absenteeism from school was fear of stain, it has been suggested through cleanliness available for changing absorbent (pad/cloth) the ratio of absenteeism can be reduce.


Author(s):  
Netri Das ◽  
Anadi Swami Tasa

Background: Menstruation is still clouded by taboos and socio-cultural restrictions resulting in adolescent girls remaining ignorant of the facts of menstruation and hygienic practices, which sometimes results in adverse health outcomes. The present study was carried out to assess the knowledge and practices regarding menstrual hygiene, to find out the disorders during menstruation and to determine the factors associated with existing practices of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girlsMethods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in two randomly selected urban slums of Jorhat district from March to August 2017 among 110 adolescent girls using predesigned pretested proforma. Data were analyzed using SPSS; association was determined using chi-square test with Yates correction or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate.Results: 47.27% girls were aware about menstruation prior to menarche. Mother was the first informant in 65.38% of them. 69.09% were ignorant about the source of menstrual bleeding. Sanitary pads were used by 59.09% of girls. Majority (97.27%) practiced some form of restriction during menstruation. Dysmenorrhoea was the most common complaint (53.63%). Type of absorbent used was significantly associated with literacy status of girls and their mothers, socio-economic status, religion and prior knowledge about menstruation. Educational status of girls and their mothers were also significantly associated with satisfactory cleaning of external genitalia during menstruation.Conclusions: Ignorance and unsafe practices regarding menstruation, menstruation related problems and traditional beliefs and restrictions are quite common among adolescent girls in urban slums. Literacy status and awareness are the most important factors affecting the menstrual behaviours.


Author(s):  
Geeta Singh ◽  
Anish Khanna ◽  
Monika Agarwal ◽  
V. K. Singh ◽  
Rekha Sachan

Background: Menstruation and related problems are difficult issues for adolescent girls and are a common reason for consulting healthcare providers. The objective of the study was to study the age of menarche, menstrual pattern, menstrual related health problems and health seeking behaviour for it.Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in urban as well as rural schools of Lucknow district from August 2014 to September 2015. Multistage random sampling was used to select the requisite number of girls. A total of 600 girls of age group 10-19 years were interviewed and analysed using appropriate statistical methodsResults: The mean age of menarche of the total population was 13.2±1 years. During menstruation, urban girls had significantly excessive passage of clots (26.5%) and faced more discomfort in their routine activities (78.8%) when compared to their rural counterpart (25.2% and 73.4% respectively), whereas the relation was inverse with regard to school absenteeism that was significantly higher in rural girls (44.0%) than urban girls (32.3%). The usual age of menarche as well as the pattern of pre-menstrual symptoms varied significantly between the girls of rural and urban areas.Conclusions: With few exceptions, menstrual health related problems have an unequal distribution in girls of rural and urban origin. Hence effective management of menstrual problems will lose its chase unless health education targeting all the three groups viz.; adolescent girls, concerned parents and teachers have to be uniformly strengthened.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mausumi Basu ◽  
Prakash Mathiyalagen ◽  
Birundhanjali Peramasamy ◽  
Kavita Vasudevan ◽  
Johnson Cherian ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurul Asikin

The onset of menarche is part of physical and sexual maturity process. Previous studies have shown that the nutritional status of an adolescenst girl have important influence on the menarche age. The study was designed to determine the age of menarche and its relation to nutritional status of adolescent girls in SMP Negeri 10 Bulukumba. This was an analytical survey with a Cross Sectional Study approach. The sample in this study consisted of 74 people (total sampling), namely all students who had experienced menarche. The result of this study indicate that of the 74 respondents studied, there were 48 respondents had a good nutritional status, 43.75% had experienced normal menarche and 56.25% had experienced abnormal menarche. There were 26 respondents had a malnutrition, 15.38% had experienced normal menarche and 84.62% had experienced abnormal menarche. The results of statistical tests showed that there was an association between the nutritional status and the age at menarche of adolescent girls in SMP Negeri 10 Bulukumba (Pv=0,020; OR= 4,28). It is concluded that nutritional status is significantly associated with the age at menarche in adolesence. A good nutritional status in adolescent girls will experience puberty normally, resulting in normal and uninterrupted menstruation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 258-264
Author(s):  
D Ranabhat ◽  
S Nepal ◽  
B. Regmi

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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