A comparative cross sectional study of knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in rural and urban schools of Rural Karnataka

Abstract

Background: Comprehensive knowledge about good menstrual hygiene practice right from childhood may promote safe practices and may help in mitigating the suffering of women throughout their reproductive age. Among adolescent girls there is shyness and embarrassment regarding discussions about menstruation with friends and family members which can lead to adoption of non-scientific methods during menstruation. Objectives: To assess the knowledge and practices related to menstrual hygiene among rural and urban school going adolescent girls and to provide health education regarding menstrual hygiene. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in August to October, 2015 among 220 school going adolescent girls. A pretested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data after obtaining informed consent and assent. Descriptive statistics like proportions and frequencies was computed. Chi-square test was the test of significance for qualitative data and p value of < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: 220 adolescent girls were recruited in to the study. Majority of the girls were in the age group 15 years (46.8%), belonging to Hindu religion (90.9%). Urban girls attained menarche at earlier age than their counter parts in rural area. 87.3% & 65.4% of the urban and rural girls respectively used sanitary pads during menstruation. Majority of the girls from urban area (84.5%) got score of >9 for practices during menstruation whereas 52.7% of rural girls got an overall score >9. Most common reason for school absenteeism due to menstruation in both urban and rural girls was abdominal pain, second most common reason was fear of leak. Conclusion: Knowledge regarding menstruation was almost similar among the girls studying in both urban and rural schools. However, the practices during menstruation were not optimal in rural girls compared to urban girls. A variety of factors like lack of sanitary latrine and adverse social customs were found to be af