scholarly journals Assessment of Perceptions and Practices on Menstruation among Adolescent Girls in Five Schools in bo district, Sierra Leone

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Augustus Osborne ◽  
◽  
Bashiru Mohamed Koroma ◽  
Camilla M Bangura ◽  
◽  
...  

Menstrual hygiene is essential as it promotes the health of women. Unhygienic menstrual practices can affect the health of girls and can lead to urinary tract infections. Many girls deficient of appropriate knowledge in menstruation and menstrual hygiene. It is therefore necessary to assess their perceptions, problems, and practices on menstruation. This Cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 103 secondary school girls from five schools in the southern part of Sierra Leone via structured questionnaire. Majority of the students, were aged 15-18 years. 29.1% of the girl’s attained menstruation at age 14 years. 57.3% of the girls believed that the normal monthly interval of menstruation is 28 days. 33% of the girls said Menstruation upsets them. Staining of dress and bad odor 30.1% were the most embarrassment faced by girls during menstruation. 64.1% of the girls said Scared was their reaction to Menstruation. 78.6% of the girls said Worried is how they feel when they don’t get their period on time. Menstrual problems were most commonly discussed with their mothers, (68%), and least commonly discussed with the fathers, 1.9%. Majority of the respondents had poor knowledge on menstruation, menstrual hygiene and practices. Menstruation perceptions are poor, and practices often incorrect. A multi-dimensional approach focusing on capacity building of mothers, and teachers on sexuality education skills; using religious organizations as avenues for sexuality education; and effectively using the Mass Media as reproductive health education channels are recommended towards improving adolescents’ perceptions and practices on menstruation. (Afr Reprod Health 2008; 12[1]:74-83).

Patan Pragya ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-112
Author(s):  
Prabha Khanal

Menstruation is not just a physiological phenomenon but it is also psychological, social as well as behavioral transition for an adolescent girl from girlhood to womanhood. Menstrual hygiene is most important, still neglected area of concern. A cross sectional study was undertaken in a four community schools of rural area of Tanahun district. A pre-designed, self-administered close ended (structured) questionnaire was prepared for collection of data. There were 196 participants for the study. It was marked that 69 percent participants were aware about menstruation before their menarche and the most important sources of information were mothers in 61 percent, 59 percent participants used only sanitary napkin during menstruation, 50 percent changed absorbent 1 to 2 times a day. Although knowledge was better than practice, however, both were not satisfactory level. So, the girls should be educated more about the process and significance of menstruation.


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.


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


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (Number 1) ◽  
pp. 15-19
Author(s):  
Sultana Begum ◽  
Meheruba Afrin ◽  
Afsana Sharmin ◽  
Ayesha Ferdaus Jesun ◽  
Anysar Rahman Hemal

This descriptive type of cross sectional study was conducted to reveal the morbidity pattern in the Medicine Outpatient Department of in Upazila Health Complex, Keranigonj, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from 1st December to 15th December 2019 with a sample size of 150 using interviewer administered semi -structured questionnaire employing purposive sampling technique. The study shows that about one third (32%) of the respondents belonged to the age group 16 to 30 years and only 3% were from age group 75 years and above, 55% of them were female, 95% were Muslim and 63% were married; 54.67% lived in semi paccha house and about 84% were literate. Regarding occupation, one third of the respondents were businessmen (33%) followed by services (26%); 76% of the respondents had monthly income more than 10,000 BDT. The study revealed that 97.33% of the respondents were suffering from illness due to diseases and among them 90% have investigation reports. It was found that loose motion (21%), fever (20%), abdominal pain (19.33%), cough (9%) and chest pain (7%) were the predominant complaints. Study showed gastroenteritis (20%), respiratory tract infections (16%), bronchial asthma (12%), and skin diseases (2%) were the illness diagnosed. Most (96.66%) of the respondents were satisfied with the service provided. The study findings highlights that most of the diseases are the preventable and chronic diseases and the service providers should prepare themselves understanding the needs and gaps to serve the community in appropriate manner.


Author(s):  
Angeline Grace G. ◽  
ArunKumar M. ◽  
Umadevi R.

Background: Menstruation is a normal biological function in females and in the society, the practices followed are highly variable across different regions. This study aimed to determine the practices followed during menstruation by rural women in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, India.Methods: This community based cross sectional study was carried out between August and October 2018. Sample size of 400 was calculated by using formula 4pq/d2 and female respondents were selected from sampled households using systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a pre-tested, structured questionnaire, which were analysed using SPSS version 16.0 and presented using descriptive and analytical statistics.Results: A total of 395 women were included in the study. About 54% of females belonged to the age group of 26-35 years and 82.5% were married. Use of sanitary pads during menstruation was reported by 28.6% of the females. Other absorbents used were disposable cloths (46.3%) and reusable cloths (25.1%). About 79% of females practiced some form of restriction during menstruation. Females aged <35 years (OR: 2.55, 95% CI: 1.48-4.39) were more likely to use sanitary pad compared to older females. Females who used sanitary pad as absorbent were less likely to have symptoms of reproductive tract infections compared to those who didn’t (OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.28-0.94).Conclusions: Menstrual hygiene practices were found be unsatisfactory among the rural women and various restrictions during menstruation were also in practice. Women should be educated about the importance of use of sanitary pads and the harms of using cloths. Awareness also needs to be created to abolish the unnecessary restrictions that are imposed on women to be followed during menstruation.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ephrem Biruk ◽  
Worku Tefera ◽  
Nardos Tadesse ◽  
Ashagre Sisay

AbstractIntroductionManaging menstruation is essentially dealing with menstrual flow and also in continuing regular activities like going to school, working etc. However, menstruation can place significant obstacles in girls’ access to health, education and future prospects if they are not equipped for effective menstrual hygiene management.ObjectiveTo assess the menstrual hygiene management and its determinant among school girls in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsCross-sectional study design with quantitative method was carried out among 770 systematically selected adolescent school girls of Addis Ababa from April 1 to May 5, 2017. A self-administered pre-test close ended Amharic questionnaire at school setting was used for data collection. The coding was done using the original English version and entered to EPI-7 software. The quantitative file exported to statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 25.0 software for analysis. Total mean score was used to categorize individuals as good and poor while AOR; 95% CI with p < 0.05 was used to determine factors of menstrual hygiene management practice.ResultThis study had 98% response rate. 530 (70.1%) and 388(51.3%) respondents had good knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene respectively. The findings also showed a significant positive association between good knowledge of menstruation and girls from mother’s whose education were secondary (AOR = 10.012, 95 % CI = 3.628-27.629). Wealth index quantile five (AOR = 9.038, 95 % CI = 3.728-21.909) revealed significant positive association with good practice of menstrual hygiene.Conclusion and recommendationMajority of participants had good knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene and majority of them were from private school. Although knowledge was better than practice, girls should be educated about the process, use of proper pads or absorbents and its proper disposal.


Author(s):  
Reena V. Wagh ◽  
Aditi J. Upadhye ◽  
Jayshree J. Upadhye

Background: Menstrual hygiene is an important aspect in the life of young girls.The present study aims at assessing the knowledge regarding menstruation and hygienic practices and perceptions during menstruation.Methods: It was a cross sectional study, conducted among 100 young girls of 20-22 years age to assess the awareness of menstrual hygiene. Data was collected by pre-tested questionnaire. Statistics was calculated in percentages.Results: Out of 100 girls, 71 (71%) knew about menstruation before menarche while 29 (29%) did not have any knowledge. 71 (71%) girls knew the cause of menstruation as physiological, 18 (18%) girls didn’t know the cause, 11 (11%) girls still believe it as curse of God. 68 (68%) girls knew the source of bleeding during menstruation as uterus, 20 (20%) girls thought it as vagina while 12 (12%) thought it as urethra. 64% girls use sanitary pads during menstruation, 19% girls used old cloth while 17% girls used new cloth during menstruation as adsorbent material. 9% girls dispose pads or used cloth in dustbin, 19% girls flush them in toilet while 12% girls throw them roadside. 96% girls avoid going to temple, 68% girls restrict their daily activities, 56% girls avoid going to functions, 50% girls avoid going to kitchen, 50% girls avoid going to kitchen while 45% girls avoid touching things at home.Conclusions: It is very important that young girls should be educated about the importance of maintaining hygiene during menstruation to prevent the risk of reproductive tract infections.


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.


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