scholarly journals ‘Oh Bulan’ Pilot Project: Sanitary Pad Usage and School Absenteeism During Menstruation Among Adolescent Girls in Rural Kelantan

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

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Augustus Osborne ◽  
◽  
Bashiru Mohamed Koroma ◽  
Camilla M Bangura ◽  
◽  
...  

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.


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.


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.


Author(s):  
Hema Priya S. ◽  
Partha Nandi ◽  
Seetharaman N. ◽  
Ramya M. R. ◽  
Nishanthini N. ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-89
Author(s):  
Suneela Garg ◽  
Mongjam Meghachandra Singh ◽  
Yamini Marimuthu ◽  
Amod Borle ◽  
Nidhi Bhatnagar ◽  
...  

Background: School absenteeism during menstruation and its related effects are preventable through identification of factors associated with it and implementation of region specific appropriate public health measures. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of school absenteeism during menstruation and its associated factors among adolescent girls residing in the resettlement colonies of Delhi. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban resettlement colonies of Delhi during 2019 in which 712 school going adolescent girls were interviewed. The details about school absenteeism, its perceived reasons, various socio-demographic details, menstrual hygiene practices were assessed using pretested semi structured questionnaire. The data were entered in MS Excel and analysed using STATA statistical software version 14. Results: The prevalence of school absenteeism during menstruation among adolescent girls of resettlement colony was 43.1%(95% CI:39.5 – 46.7). Out of 307 girls who had school absenteeism, 285(92.8%) had missed for 1-3days. The most common self-reported reasons for school absenteeism during menstruation were pain during menstruation (75.6%) followed by staining of cloths(43.6%) and uncomfortable feeling(39.4%). Studying in government school (PR=1.4, 95% CI:1.1-2.0), suffering from menstruation-related problems(aPR=1.9, 95% CI:1.5-2.4) and pads being provided from schools(PR=1.3, 95% CI:1.1-1.7) were significantly associated with school absenteeism. Conclusions: Almost half of the adolescent girls in resettlement colonies had school absenteeism. The characteristics like government school, pads being provided from school, menstruation related problems like weakness, irritation, perceived weight gain and breast pain was significantly associated with school absenteeism. The factors associated with school absenteeism needs to be addressed with appropriate public health interventions.


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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Maushami Ghimire ◽  
Madhusudhan Ghimire ◽  
Anand Prakash Singh

  Introduction: Menarche is a highly emotional experience for the young pubescent. The intensity of experience for the young pubescent is maximum at the time of menarche and depends on how well she is informed about menstruation and the type of support system around her. The subject of menstruation revolves around notion of dirt, taboos and restrictions in various spheres of a woman’s life. The objective of this study is to ascertain and compare practices and problems during menarche among adolescent girls in Sultanpur, Uttarpradesh (UP), India.   Methods: The comparative study was conducted in both urban (Civil Lines) and rural (Wallipur Village) areas in Sultanpur district of UP, India. A cross-sectional study was followed from August  to November 2011. Two hundred adolescence girls were selected through simple random procedure. Interview schedule was used to collect information from respondents.   Results: The mean age of menarche among adolescence girls was 12.16 years. There was no statistical difference between rural and urban population with regard to knowledge about menstruation. Menstruation was taken as a disease by 20.6% and 23.7%. in each population. Use of sanitary pads was more in urban girls. Unhygienic practices like using no means of menstrual absorbent were more prevalent among rural girls.   Conclusion: Unhygienic practices during menstruation among adolescent girls was common in adolescent girls in rural population.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (March) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Mehedi Hasan ◽  
Md Nazmul Hassan ◽  
Mohsina Mita ◽  
Fatema Zahara ◽  
Md Hasib

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.


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