Assessment of knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls of government school of Jabalpur and impact of health education on menstrual hygiene

Abstract

Introduction: India is a developing country, it has made advancements in every field, but stillmenstruation is a topic of social taboo in many rural and suburban parts of the country, as peoplefeel shy and difficult to discuss it openly, even mothers, sisters and teachers are not able to providecorrect information regarding menstruation physiology and its hygiene. Objective: To educateadolescent girls and assess the impact of health education on them. Methods: About 400adolescent girls aged 11-19 years from 3 government schools of Jabalpur were interviewed using apretested and predesigned questionnaire in the local language. Health education regarding hygienicpractices during menstruation was given through audiovisual aids after filling out the questionnaire.Results: out of 400 girls,291(72%) girls already knew that menstruation is a physiological processwhich increased significantly to 307(76.8%). Knowledge was poor about the source and type ofbleed; only 99 (24.8%) knew that the original was the uterus. Only 59(14.8%)girls were usingsanitary napkins. In contrast, most of them were using old cloth265(66.3%)of which 86.3% werewashing it with soap and water, and 67.3% used to dry them inside their houses, which increasedsignificantly after imparting health education to 99%and decreased to 6% respectively. Conclusion:The result of this study indicates that there is a need for the establishment of a comprehensiveschool health education programme with solid familial input. Teachers should be trained to providehealth education about menstruation, its physiology and correct hygienic practices, as theadolescent girls will turn into mothers one day.