Abstract
Menstrual hygiene is an issue that is insufficiently acknowledged and has not received adequate attention. There is a substantial knowledge gap on menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls. Lack of knowledge and poor personal hygienic practices during menstruation can lead to various gynecological problems. This study aimed to assess menstrual hygine practice and factors associated with it among secondary school girls in Wegera District, Northwest Ethiopia. A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 randomly selected secondary school girls from March to April, 2014. The data were collected by using pre-tested self -administered questionnaire. Good menstrual hygiene practice was found to be 29.8%. Menstrual practice among girls who had exposure to advertisement on sanitary napkins (AOR 2.06(1.27, 3.34)) and good knowledge on menstrual hygiene (AOR 2.23(1.06, 4.71)) were the factors associated with good menstrual hygiene practice. This study revealed that the menstrual hygiene practice of secondary school girls was low. Exposure to advertisement regarding sanitary napkins and knowledge on menstrual hygiene were found to influence their practice towards menstrual hygiene. Menstrual hygiene is an issue needs to be addressed at all levels.
Highlights
Females of reproductive age account 26% of the total population
Menstruation is part of the female reproductive cycle that starts at puberty and menstrual hygiene is fundamental to the dignity and wellbeing of women and girls and an important part of the basic hygiene, sanitation and reproductive health services to which every woman and girl has a right
The sample size was determined by using single population proportion formula with the assumptions of 95% confidence interval, marginal error of (d = 5%), and by considering the proportion of students who practiced good menstrual hygiene 50% since there were no other studies done in the country, and considering 10 % non response rate the final sample size becomes 423
Summary
Females of reproductive age account 26% of the total population. Most of these women and girls menstruate monthly in their reproductive life span [1]. Menstruation is part of the female reproductive cycle that starts at puberty and menstrual hygiene is fundamental to the dignity and wellbeing of women and girls and an important part of the basic hygiene, sanitation and reproductive health services to which every woman and girl has a right. Menstrual hygiene refers to personal hygiene during menstruation. This includes bathing at least once a day, wearing clean and regularly changed undergarment and using proper absorbent materials like pads and tampons which are changed regularly (every three to four hours) [3,4,5,6]
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