scholarly journals A cross sectional study of knowledge, attitude and practices regarding menstrual hygiene among ashram school adolescent girls in field practice area of tertiary health care hospital in Navi Mumbai

Author(s):  
Jayesh Gosavi ◽  
Deepa H. Velankar ◽  
Sumedha Joshi ◽  
Sumit Wasnik ◽  
Sudarshan Ramaswamy

Background: Adolescent girls often lack knowledge regarding menstruation which may be associated with taboos and myths existing in our traditional society which has a negative implication for women’s health, particularly their menstrual hygiene. Aim of the current study is to investigate existing knowledge, attitude and practices regarding menstruation and to assess the source of information, beliefs, misconceptions and restrictions related to menstruation among adolescent school girls.Methods: The study was undertaken among all adolescent girls of 7th to 10th standard of ashram school in September 2018 to Oct 2018 by pre-designed, close ended questionnaire and the data was analysed.Results: Out of the 100 girls who had attained menarche, all participants used sanitary pads as it was provided by school. Maximum girls had positive attitude towards menstruation, 58% girls got information about menstruation from their teacher. For cleaning of genitals during menstruation 58% girls used water and soap, 7% used water and antiseptic and 35% used water only. Method of adsorbent disposal was reported as burn (51%) and burial (44%). 42% and 49% of girls were not allowed to do household activities and kitchen work respectively. 95% and 63% of girls weren’t allowed to go to temple and do sport activities respectively.Conclusions: In the study, it was observed that among the adolescent ashram school girls, the knowledge of menstruation was good and the practices were optimal for proper hygiene but superstitious beliefs and taboos affect their day to day activity during menstruation.

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zelalem Belayneh ◽  
Birhanie Mekuriaw

Abstract Background Menstruation is a normal physiological process of females at their reproductive age. However, it is surrounded with social taboos and supernatural beliefs. The poor knowledge and understanding of menstruation may lead to unsafe hygienic practice that intern increases the risk of reproductive and genito-urinary tract infections, cervical cancer, school drop-out, poor academic performance and overall poor quality of life. Despite such clinical and academic effects, the knowledge and hygienic practice of adolescent girls towards menstruation is not well addressed in Ethiopia, particularly among school adolescent girls. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and menstrual hygiene practice among adolescent school girls in southern Ethiopia. Methods This was an institutional based cross-sectional study conducted at Gedeo zone high schools among 791 randomly selected adolescent girls using multi stage sampling technique. Data were collected using interviewer administered questionnaire. The collected data were entered to EPI-INFO (soft ware) and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable logistics analyses were computed to identify factors associated with the poor menstrual hygienic practice. During bi-variable analysis, variables with P-values of less than 0.25 were entered to multivariable model for further analysis. In the final model, P-value of less than 0.05 was used as a base to identify factors having a statistically significant association with poor menstrual hygiene practice at corresponding 95% confidence interval. Result From a total of 791 adolescent girls participated in this study, 68.3% had poor knowledge of menstruation. About 48.1% of school girls used absorbent materials, and 69.5% clean their external genitalia. Generally, 60.3% of girls had poor menstrual hygienic practice. Age less than 15 years [OR = 1.71:95% CI (1.22, 2.39)], longer days of menstrual flow [OR = 2.51:95% CI (1.66, 3.80)] and poor knowledge of menses [OR = 1.48:95% CI (1.04, 2.1)] had a significantly associated with poor menstrual hygiene practice. Conclusion Majority of adolescent school girls had poor knowledge regarding menstruation and their hygienic practices are incorrect. This demonstrates a need to design acceptable awareness creation and advocacy programs to improve the knowledge and promote safe hygienic practice of adolescent school girls during menstruation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-49
Author(s):  
Naveed Mansoori ◽  
◽  
Hiba Tanweer ◽  
Imtiaz Ahmed ◽  
Abdullah . ◽  
...  

Objectives: To evaluate menstrual hygiene practices among teenage girls and to compare menstrual hygiene practices among secondary and higher secondary school girls in Pakistan Methodology: A cross-sectional study of adolescent girls (grades 9 to 12) from different secondary and higher secondary schools across Pakistan was conducted between November 2017 and September 2018. A pre-tested and standardized questionnaire was administered using a non-probability sampling technique. The menstrual hygiene practices were evaluated and comparisons were made between secondary and higher secondary school girls about these practices. Data was analysed using SPSS version 22. P-value < 0.05 was set for being statistically significant. Results: Out of a total of 2,000 adolescent girls, an equal number of adolescent girls (n=1,000) were chosen from secondary and higher secondary schools. The mean menarchal age was 12.5 ± 1.2 years. Majority of the participants (63.6%) belonged to public sector schools and (71.3%) responded that menstrual blood comes from the womb. One in five (19.3%) girls missed 2 days/month of school due to pain (54.5%). Two-thirds (68.6%) of the participants were using sanitary pads and one of three changed their pads three times/day, and forty-six percent of the girls were unable to carry out daily activities due to menstrual period. Statistically significant (P < 0.05) association was observed between knowledge of menstruation among secondary and higher secondary school girls. Conclusion: The study showed that menstrual hygiene was understood well among young girls. However, a substantial association was noted between secondary and higher secondary school girls’ hygiene practices.


Author(s):  
Sasmita Pradhan ◽  
Krishna Kar ◽  
Barada Prasanna Samal ◽  
Jagannath Pradhan

Background: In the life of a female, menarche denotes the beginning of her reproductive capacity. Menstrual hygiene is an issue that every girl has to deal with in her life, but there is lack of awareness on the process of menstruation, the physical and psychological changes associated with puberty and proper requirement for managing menstruation.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2016 to December 2016 in the urban field practice area of SCB Medical College. One government high school and one private high school were selected purposively. A purposeful convenience sampling was done to select the girls who were studying in 8th, 9th and 10th standard. Data collected from 165 adolescent school girls using a predesigned, pretested and structured questionnaire. The objective of the present study is to assess the knowledge and practices regarding menstrual hygiene among school going adolescent girls and to know about the restrictions imposed upon them during menstruation.Results: Most of the adolescent girls (61.82%) had attained menarche between 13-15 years of age. 59.39% girls were aware about menstruation before menarche. The source of information about menstruation was the mother or elder sister in most of the girls (81.21 %), followed by teachers/friends in case of 18.79 % girls. 84.85% of the girls used only sanitary pad, 4.24% used only cloth and the rest 10.91% used both sanitary pad and cloth during menstruation.Conclusions: Maintenance of menstrual hygiene was better in private school girls as compared to government school girls. Health education sessions about menstrual hygiene should be conducted in the schools for spreading awareness regarding menstruation and menstrual hygiene.


Author(s):  
Pradeep Senapathi ◽  
Hemant Kumar

Background: Menstruation is a completely normal biological process. Yet women and girls, the world over, face numerous challenges and taboos which often portray them as inferior to men. Poor hygiene and sanitation facilities in schools cause girls to experience menstruation as shameful and uncomfortable. The objective of the study was to assess and compare the status of menstrual hygiene management among rural and urban adolescent school girls.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out from 01 September 2016 to 31 October 2016, among 244 adolescent school girls, in urban and rural field practice areas of A.J. Institute of Medical Sciences of Research, Mangaluru, Karnataka.Results: A total of 244 adolescent school girls participated in this study. Out of these, 54.17% girls were from rural, while 45.83% were from the urban school. Mean age of menarche of all the respondents was 12.61±0.81 years. Overall, 69.67% girls were aware of menstruation prior to attainment of menarche. The awareness was found to be more among urban school girls (72.32%) as compared to rural girls (67.42%). The study brings out that 49.24% of the girls in the rural school and 65.17% of the girls in urban school were using sanitary pads. ‘High cost’ was cited as the main reason for not using the sanitary pads.Conclusions: Menstrual hygiene management was found to be sub-optimal among both, urban as well as rural adolescent girls.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL4) ◽  
pp. 1703-1708
Author(s):  
Sukanya L ◽  
Roshinidevi Baskaran

The topic of menstrual hygiene has been highly stigmatised in India due to which girls tend to lack awareness regarding various scientific and practical aspects of menstruation. This lack of awareness among adolescent girls regarding menstrual hygiene can lead to negative impacts on their reproductive health. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding menstrual hygiene among school-going adolescent girls. A cross-sectional study using a pre-validated questionnaire was conducted among 168 adolescent school-going girls and found that only 37.3% of the study participants were aware of menstruation before attaining menarche. Only 25.3% of study participants either slept or ate separately from their family members while menstruating. All participants were using sanitary pads and disposed of them after usage indicating no reuse. Proper wrapping and disposal of pads in closed garbage bins was followed by 97% of study participants. A significant association between awareness of the cause of menstruation and the higher class of study was established. Though knowledge about menstruation before attaining menarche is meagre, the practices and attitude regarding were reasonable compared to other studies, mainly attributed to awareness and help received after menarche.


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):  
Susmita Ghosh ◽  
Md Ruhul Kabir ◽  
Mohammad Rahanur Alam ◽  
Akibul Islam Chowdhury ◽  
Md Abdullah Al Mamun

AbstractObjectivesAdolescence, a crucial period for growth velocity including sexual maturation, is an important period of life and young adolescent girls need to have proper knowledge, positive attitudes and practice of balanced diet to achieve optimum growth and development. Considering its importance this study attempts to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of balanced diets among adolescent schoolgirls in Noakhali district, Bangladesh.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in three secondary schools in Noakhali district, Bangladesh. A multistage sampling techniques was used to select schools and study participants. A total of 485 adolescent school girls participated and a pre-designed, validated and structured questionnaire was used for data collection. In addition to descriptive statistics, chi-square test and logistic regression were employed for analysis.ResultsThe results from the study revealed that more than half of the students did not have good knowledge about a balanced diet, 42.8% had a positive attitude, whereas the practice of consuming a balanced diet was rather low (only 4.5%). Students studying in government schools had better knowledge and attitudes than non-government school students. Moreover, 41.1% of students were underweight; more than 60% of respondent’s mothers did not have an education higher than secondary school and were mostly unemployed housewives. Parent’s education, mother’s occupation, and types of school have a strong association with KAP; however, father’s education and occupation showed an association of varying degrees. Being knowledgeable was related to positive attitudes, and students with good knowledge had (OR: 1.828; 95% CI: 1.270–2.631) more likely to have positive attitudes towards a balanced diet.ConclusionsThus, proper knowledge about a balanced diet should be introduced with basic nutritional knowledge to all levels of public education. Interventions and programs can be designed to improve knowledge, attitude, and more specifically the practice at the household level so that adolescent girls can have a proper diet during their sexual maturation phase.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-142
Author(s):  
Farhana Salim ◽  
Nasreen Begum

Objective : To assess the hygienic practices during menstruation among adolescent school girls in selected secondary rural schools.Methods : This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted from November to December, 2015. Study area was selected on choice were four upazilas of Kishoreganj, Lakshmipur, Barguna and Sirajganj District. From the study area 15 schools were selected on the basis of convenience and accessibility. Data were collected from 438 purposively selected adolescent unmarried school girls aged 15-18 years and studying in class IX and X, through face to face interview by pretested questionnaire. Data were analyzed by using software SPSS version 20.Results : The result of the study revealed that majority (52%) participants were using cloths and 48.4% were using sanitary napkin for menstrual hygiene management. About half of the participants got the information about menstrual and reproductive health from family members. Thirty five percent (35%) girls do not attend school during first two days of menstruation. Majority (69%) of the girls never change pad and 45% complained about unavailability of water at school. However, knowledge of reproductive health issues like minimum age at marriage (18yrs, 85.8%), minimum age of child birth (20yrs, 89%) and need for extra nutrition during pregnancy (99.0%) was quite satisfactory. The level of maternal education and economic condition were significantly associated with sanitary napkin use.Conclusion : The study revealed that higher percentage of participants was not using sanitary napkins, although their knowledge regarding menstrual and reproductive health issues is satisfactory. Implementation of school health programs for adolescents should emphasis on menstrual hygiene management.Northern International Medical College Journal Vol.7(2) Jan 2016: 139-142


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.


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

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