Assessment of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls of East Delhi: A community-based cross-sectional research from an urban resettlement colony

Abstract

Introduction: Even though menstruation is a normal physiological process, menstrual hygiene is a most neglected issue with many myths and social stigmas being associated with it. Due to unhygienic menstrual practices, young girls are vulnerable to reproductive tract infections and pelvic inflammatory diseases and other complications. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls. Material and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in an urban resettlement colony of Kalyanpuri, East Delhi. One hundred and five adolescent girls participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 14.18 ± 2.13 years. Predesigned and pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used. Institutional Ethical clearance was obtained. Results: In this study, out of 105 girls, only 35.2% girls had knowledge about menstruation before they experienced menarche. Only 56.2% girls were aware that menstruation is a normal physiological process. Overall knowledge level about menstrual hygiene was unsatisfactory. Only 31.4% of girls were using sanitary pads during menstruation, 59.25% of the respondents had good practices. About 12.4% girls had positive attitude toward menstrual hygiene. Conclusion: Although practices on menstrual hygiene management among adolescents were fairly satisfactory, knowledge and attitude still need to improve. Findings indicate the need of behavior change communication campaigns along with frequent reinforcement of school health education programs.