Adolescent School Girls Research Articles

Teachers' reflections on menstrual management among urban and rural schoolgirls in South Africa.

Menstruation affects all aspects of an adolescent schoolgirl's life, including her educational journey. Experiences of menstruation within the school environment can either positively or negatively affect a girl's schooling career. The purpose was to investigate the role of teachers in the school setting regarding addressing young girls' experiences with menstruation in Cape Town, South Africa. We conducted a qualitative, exploratory study to purposively select six teachers from three, two urban and one rural. Six individual interviews were conducted by the researcher per school and data was transcribed and refined into themes. The main findings included, school attendance, culture, experiences and perceptions of teachers, and recommended key resources. Findings illustrate that there is a direct association between menstruation and school attendance. Challenges such as a dearth of sanitary products create a barrier for school attendance of adolescent girls. An improved understanding of culture and the challenges that menstruating adolescent schoolgirls face is needed to provide proper and adequate support. A language barrier may exist between teachers and learners, including a cultural unwillingness to speak openly about menstruation. Educational policies are needed to address the need for sanitary resources in schools to establish best practice for teachers in dealing with menstruating young schoolgirls.

Knowledge, attitude, and practices of adolescent school girls regarding menstrual hygiene in Lucknow district

Background: Girls’ adolescence has been recognized as a unique period that occurs as they cross the threshold from childhood to adulthood. Menstruation is typically viewed in Indian society as unclean. A negative attitude about this condition has been perpetuated by efforts to isolate and restrict menstruation females in the household. Numerous investigations have discovered restrictions in daily activities. On the other hand, maintaining good cleanliness habits during menstruation is important for reproductive health since it reduces vulnerability to infections of the reproductive tract. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess knowledge and attitude about menstrual health among adolescent girls in rural and urban schools in Lucknow district and to find out practices of menstrual hygiene among them. Materials and Methods: The study unit consists of 410 teenage school-going females who live in both urban and rural regions of the Lucknow district. There was a multi-stage random sampling. A pre-developed and pre-tested interview schedule was employed toobtain data. Participants were questioned about their personal cleanliness, which need to be covered in the academic program. Results: Four hundred and ten adolescent girls who were enrolled in school participated in the study. The majority of girls in this survey (52.8%) are between the ages of 17 and 19. 87.6% of the girls reported being ignorant of menstruation before menarche. While 41.6% of the girls were unaware of the organ from which bleeding originates, around 68.2% of the girls believed that the primary reason of menstruation is physiological and unrelated to any sickness. At the age of 10–13 years, 42.60% of the girls reached menarche. The majority of participants (60.80%) gave accurate responses to the question about the typical menstrual cycle’s average length. Only 35.27% of the girls were aware of the proper menarche age. Of them, 65.50% were aware of the issues with their reproductive health. Conclusion: Lack of education among mothers and other female family members may contribute to girls’ lack of knowledge and awareness of menstruation. Misinformation, pre-conceptions, limitations, and a lack of knowledge around menstruation come in many different forms. As a result, when the entire family is familiar with the phenomena of menstruation, age-old prohibitions, conventional preconceptions, incorrect ideas, and negative attitudes may be successfully erased.

Effectiveness of peer-led education interventions on contraceptive use, unmet need, and demand among adolescent girls in Gedeo Zone, South Ethiopia. A cluster randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT Background Peer-led education interventions are assumed to be an effective means of increasing contraceptive utilization and demand in adolescents. However evidence is lacking on whether peer-led education is effective in promoting the demand for and use of contraceptives in adolescent girls, especially in resource-limited settings. Objective The present study evaluated the effectiveness of peer-led education interventions in improving contraceptive use, unmet needs, and demand among sexually active secondary school adolescent girls in Gedeo Zone, South Ethiopia. Methods A single-blinded cluster randomised controlled trial study was performed in six randomly selected secondary schools in the Gedeo Zone, southern Ethiopia. A total of 224 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received peer-led education intervention for six months. A pre-tested and validated questionnaire was used to measure contraceptive use, unmet need, and contraceptive demand. A generalised estimating equation (GEE) model was used to examine the effectiveness of the intervention. Result After six months of intervention, the Differences-in-difference in contraceptive use, unmet need, and contraceptive demand between the intervention and control groups were 25.1%, 7.4%, and 17.7%, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in contraceptive use [AOR = 8.7, 95% CI: (3.66, 20.83), unmet need for contraceptives [AOR = 6.2, 95% CI: (1.61, 24.36)] and contraceptive demand [AOR = 6.1, 95% CI: (2.43, 15.11)] between the intervention and control groups. Conclusions School-based peer education intervention effectively improved contraceptive use and unmet needs in a low-resource setting and created demand in sexually active adolescent girls. These results support the potential utility of this approach in similar settings for the promotion of contraception use and demand.

Menstrual hygiene management practice and its associated factors among in-school adolescent girls in Western Ethiopia

BackgroundAdolescent girls should practice good menstrual hygiene to enhance their health and educational attainment. However, socio-cultural restrictions and limited water, sanitation, and hygiene in school environments continued to make it difficult for in school adolescent females to practice good menstrual hygiene management. So, the main aim of this study was to assess menstrual hygiene management practice and its associated factors among in-school adolescent girls in the secondary schools of Gimbi town, western Ethiopia.MethodsA school-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 378 adolescent girls in Gimbi town secondary schools. The study participants were selected by using stratified random sampling techniques. Pretested self-administered Afan Oromo questionnaire with sociodemographic characteristics, information and knowledge about menstruation, and practice of menstrual hygiene management, as well as observational checklist to assess school environment were used to collect the data. Data were cleaned, coded, and entered into Epi-info version 7.2.0.4 and exported to SPSS version 25 for statistical analysis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the practice of menstrual hygiene management and P-values less than 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance.ResultsOut of 378 respondents, 163 (43.1%) (38–48) of adolescent girls had good menstrual hygiene management practice. Being urban resident (AOR = 3.48, (95% C.I:1.99–6.08), having mother with secondary level of education (AOR = 2.71, 95%CI: 1.15,6.42), having mother with educational level of college and above (AOR = 3.30, 95%CI1.28,8.50), having discussion about menstruation with parents (AOR = 2.42,95%CI:1.45,4.04), and having knowledge about menstruation (AOR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.69–5.13) were factors associated with good menstrual hygiene management practice.ConclusionIn this study, good menstrual hygiene management practice is low among in school adolescent girls. Place of residence, maternal educational level, discussion about menstrual issue with parent, and having knowledge about menstruation were factors associated with good menstrual management practice. Stakeholders should give appropriate awareness and health education related to menstrual hygiene for adolescent girls at all levels.

Factors Associated with Early Pregnancy among Adolescent Girls in Schools in Bohicon, Benin in 2022

Factors Associated with Early Pregnancy among Adolescent Girls in Schools in Bohicon, Benin in 2022

Knowledge regarding premenstrual syndrome among adolescent school girls in a view to develop an information booklet

Knowledge regarding premenstrual syndrome among adolescent school girls in a view to develop an information booklet

Increasing level of overweight and obesity among adolescent school girls: A randomized trial

Increasing level of overweight and obesity among adolescent school girls: A randomized trial

Public School Adolescents Had Increased Odds of Being Willing to Uptake HPV Vaccinations Owing to Sociodemographic and Healthcare Access Features in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia.

Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent and fatal malignancies in women worldwide. Despite the fact that vaccination is an effective method in reducing cervical cancer, its uptake varies between public and private school adolescents and remains a challenge in low- and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia. Empirical evidence on how much variation there is among public and private school adolescent in their willingness to uptake human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is also limited. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare levels of willingness to uptake HPV vaccination among public and private school female adolescents and associated factors in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 844 adolescents aged 10 to 19 in primary schools in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Multistage sampling was used. A self-administered, structured, and pretested questionnaire was used to collect data. The determinants of willingness to accept HPV vaccination were identified using logistic regression, and exploratory factor analyses were performed to determine load and mean. The level of statistical significance was determined using a P - value of 0.05. The overall proportion of willing to uptake HPV vaccination was 50.6% (95% CI: 47.4-54), whereas in public and private primary schools, the magnitude was 61% (95% CI: 56.3-65.4%) and 40.2% (95% CI: 35.6-44.9), respectively. In terms of willingness to uptake HPV vaccination, the odds were likely to be significantly higher among those whose mothers had a postsecondary education (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.29-3.05), a high cue to action (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.20-3.05), and high self-efficacy (AOR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.58-3.48). High perceived barriers likely decreased the willingness to uptake HPV vaccination (AOR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.34-0.70). Adolescent girls in public primary schools were more likely to uptake HPV vaccination than those in private provided that income status and socioeconomic factors became less important. Willingness to uptake HPV vaccination was found to be low as compared to the WHO target for Ethiopian context and was influenced by maternal education status, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy. As a result, greater emphasis should be placed on implementing a school-based and maternal educational program on cervical cancer prevention and control focusing on the behavioral contexts.

Vitamin B12 Status in Rural Adolescent School Girls in Mysuru, India: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Almost 56% of Indian adolescent girls aged 15–19 years suffer from anemia. Adolescent age is a period of many significant physiological changes that increase nutritional demand, and they remain at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Our aim is to assess the prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency among school-going adolescent girls aged 13–16 years of rural Mysore. This study was a cross-sectional study, conducted in two high schools in rural Mysuru. Adolescent girls aged 13–16 years were included. The chosen subjects underwent complete hemogram, peripheral smear examination, and vitamin B12 level estimation. Out of 98 subjects enrolled, 40.81% were found to be deficient in vitamin B12. Macrocytes and hyper-segmented neutrophils were found to have statistically significant (P value < 0.001) relationship with vitamin B12 deficiency. The relationship between vitamin B12 deficiency with either type of diet and anemia was statically insignificant (P > 0.05). The prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency among rural adolescent girls in Mysuru is high. Other causes of nutritional anemia apart from iron deficiency, such as vitamin B12 deficiency, must be considered in the etiology of anemia and optimally treated. It is recommended to further strengthen the adolescent national health programs and food fortification programs.

A Study on the Menstruation of Adolescent Girls: A School Base Study in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Background: Menstruation is a normal physiological process occurring every month throughout the reproductive age of the females. However, significant variation in menstrual pattern is observed among adolescents. Aim of the Study: The aim of the study was to explore the pattern of menstruation and problems among school-going adolescents in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out among 250 adolescent school girls in Dhaka from June 3rd 2022 to September 2nd 2022. Prior permission was obtained from the Principal of the school and informed consent was taken from the legal guardians of the girls. The selected women were explained about the protocol and the purpose of the study and were requested to complete the questionnaires to elicit information relating to demographic features, menarche age, and menstrual characteristics. Result: The distribution of menstrual disorders of the study populations where most of the 78.4% of girls faced dysmenorrhea, 7.6% of girls had menorrhagia, 6% had irregular menses, 5.2% of girls had polymenorrhoea and 2.8% girls had no disorders. Conclusion: Menstrual problems are frequent among adolescent girls. Dysmenorrhoea was the commonest problem among the adolescent girls. Educating student about menstrual health by health care professionals and teachers can help in reducing their psychological and physical stress.

Beyond access to adequate WASH facilities: Menstrual hygiene practices of high school adolescent girls.

Menstrual hygiene has been a major problem facing Adolescent Girls at all levels of education in developing countries. Yet, it has not received the needed attention. This study uses univariate analysis to investigate the menstrual hygiene practices of adolescent girls in Ghana, with the adoption of the Menstrual Practices Questionnaire (MPQ). A sample of 167 randomly selected adolescent girls (mean age of 14.5) from five high schools in Ghana were surveyed one time. The survey was administered in a community where access to adequate WASH facilities is sorely lacking. Despite inadequate access to WASH facilities, majority of the girls' menstrual practices are hygienic. However, for a significant proportion of the girls, changing of menstrual materials (47.5%), washing of genitals (70.3%) and hands (70.9%), disposal of menstrual wastes (27.7%), sterilization of menstrual materials (31.4%), and management of cramps (64.5%) were found to be inadequate, poor, unhygienic, and unhealthy. Bridging this gap requires community-wide sensitization and adequate provision of WASH facilities. Inadequate access to WASH facilities may not be as huge a hindrance to observing good menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls as reported in conventional literature. Sociocultural factors such as religion and culture might explain this phenomenon. The study therefore recommends further studies to explore factors influencing this phenomenon which would hopefully provide an idiosyncratic genesis that might go a long way in shaping the otherwise "biased"perspectives with which religion and culture are viewed in the menstrual hygiene discourse.

Study Characteristics of School Adolescent Girls on Iron Folic Acid Supplementation Program as the Prevention of Anemia in Adolescent

Background: Efforts to accelerate stunting reduction involve specific and sensitive nutrition interventions. School adolescent girls are the target group in reducing stunting through anemia prevention. Iron folic acid (IFA) supplementation program is the specific nutrition intervention to prevent anemia in adolescent girls. Objectives: This research aims to study the characteristics of students who received the IFA supplementation program. Methods: Research design was a cross sectional that involved 123 students from 12 public high schools in Cianjur District, West Java Province. Student’s characteristics consist of knowledge on anemia and their adherence on IFA supplementation program. Data collection is carried out by self-administering questionnaires monitored by enumerator. Data is performed by using mean ± SD and n (%). Results: Student’s knowledge on anemia mostly (61.8%) were categorized as low, as 30.9% were moderate, and only 7.3% were high. Students (44.7%) knew how to detect anemia is by measuring blood hemoglobin levels. As of 59.3% and 51.2% students knew the main causes of anemia are inadequate iron intake and blood loss during menstruation. Approximately 60-80% students recognized the common symptoms and sign of anemia. Most students (76.8%) have received IFA on a weekly basis and 41.2% students acknowledge their adherence in the IFA consumption with aim to prevent anemia (85.1%), the rest 23.4% and 14.9% due to the advice by the teachers and health officers. Students who have no adherence were due to their fear on the side effects, the tablet taste, forgetfulness, and feeling healthy. Conclusions: Iron folic acid supplementation program have been conducted and well targeted, however, student’s understanding on the objectives, benefit, and their adherence is needed to be gained.

To Assess the Impact of IEC Activities on Knowledge of Family Planning among Adolescent Girls of 13-17 yrs in Rural Area of Amritsar

Back Ground: The major health issues among adolescent girls are early pregnancy, child birth, anemia. Lack of knowledge related to family planning among adolescent girls can adversely affect their and their children lives. Sexual activity in adolescent period is associated with ignorance about sex and sexuality and also predisposed by family traditions of early marriage that can lead to teenage pregnancies leading to illegal abortion, increased IMR and MMR. Adolescents should have knowledge of the health concerns and side effects of contraceptives so that they can make choices to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Aims and Objectives: Assessing the impact of IEC activities on knowledge of family planning among adolescent girls of rural area of Amritsar. Material and Methods: An interventional study was carried out among 13-17 years adolescent girls studying in the Government Senior Secondary Schools at Nagkalan and Sohian Kalan and out of school adolescent girls of the same age group residents of these two villages were also included in the study. IEC activities were done and after three months the effect of intervention was assessed. Among the enlisted 250 eligible adolescent girls, 230 were analyzed and valid conclusions were drawn. Results: out of total 230 respondents, 73 (31.73%) respondents had correct knowledge about legal age of girl at marriage. Out of total 230 respondents, before intervention only 60 (26.0.8%) of the respondents heard about contraceptive methods, after intervention this percentage increased to 68.69%.Conclusion: After intervention more number of adolescent girls had correct knowledge related to family planning

Menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent schoolgirls in the rural area of Bangladesh

<div align="center">Adolescence is a time of tremendous opportunity. However, inadequate menstrual hygiene habits are related to lower academic achievement and enrollment at school, with possible effects on longer-term socio-economic status and impaired overall quality of life. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 adolescent schoolgirls in Bangladesh between July 2019 and February 2020 with the aim of examining menstrual hygiene practices. Data indicated that the mean age of menarche in 422 adolescents was 12.71±0.97. According to the data, 47% had well and 53% had poor hygiene practices. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, the educational status of respondents’ mothers at the secondary level [AOR=2.023, 95% CI: 1.159-3.532], fathers at the graduate and above level [AOR=3.150, 95% CI: 0.883-11.238], high level of household income [AOR=2.580, 95% CI: 1.480-4.495], and knowledge about the complication of poor hygiene practice among girls [AOR=2.286, 95% CI: 1.160-4.504] were significantly associated with the level of hygiene practices. Poor menstrual hygiene practice was found among more than half of girls. Attitude toward safe menstrual materials should initiate to improve good hygiene practices. Awareness campaigns for parents and teachers to assist their children would be a vital strategy to ensure good hygiene practices</div>

Micronutrient intake and associated factors among school adolescent girls in Meshenti Town, Bahir Dar City Administration, Northwest Ethiopia, 2020.

Adolescent girls have a greater nutrient demand and their poor dietary intake is associated with micronutrient deficiencies and poor maternal outcomes. Having information on micronutrient intake inadequacy in adolescent girls is critical for promoting healthy behavior and breaking the cycle of intergenerational malnutrition. Thus, this study assessed overall micronutrient intake inadequacy and associated factors among school adolescent girls in Meshenti town of Bahir Dar City Administration, North West Ethiopia. A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 401 adolescent girls from February 7 to 23, 2020. A Simple random sampling technique was used to select study participants. A multiple-pass 24-hour dietary recall with portion size estimation method and recommended dietary allowance cut-off point were used to assess micronutrient intake inadequacy. Overall micronutrient intake inadequacy was measured using the mean adequacy ratio. Nutrient databases were developed by ESHA FOOD PROCESSOR version 8.1 software. Data were entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify determinants of overall micronutrient intake inadequacy and an adjusted odds ratio at a p-value of less than 0.05 was used to see the strength of statistical association. The prevalence of overall micronutrient intake inadequacy was 44.4% (95% CI: 39.7%-49.6%). Early adolescent age (AOR: 2.75, 95% CI: 1.71-4.42), food-insecure household (1.74, 95%CI: 1.087-2.784), low dietary diversity score (AOR = 2.83, 95% CI: 1.35-5.92), and high peer pressure on eating and body concern (AOR = 1.853, 95% CI: 1.201-2.857) were significantly associated factors with overall micronutrient intake inadequacy. Findings of this study revealed that micronutrient intake inadequacy among adolescent girls was a high public health problem in the study area. Therefore, attention should be given to adolescent girls of the study area, especially the ones in the early adolescent age. Interventions should also focus on nutrition-sensitive activities to address food insecurity, a less diversified diet, and the negative impact of peer influence.

Factors Associated with Premenstrual Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study of Female Adolescents (Morocco)

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a heterogeneous disorder which includes physical and affective symptoms that most females of reproductive age experience during the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle. Objective: This study aims to investigate the factors associated with PMS among adolescent schoolgirls and to assess the severity of PMS. Methods: A cross sectional study conducted among 102 adolescents representing Marrakesh city. A structured questionnaire was used. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 26. Results: The rate of mild to severe PMS were 52.9 %, 25.5 % and 21.6 % respectively. The most common physical symptoms were backache (52.9%) and breast tenderness (36.3%), while the most common affective symptoms were irritability (49 %), anxiety (46.1 %) and mood swelling (45.1 %). Significant differences were observed between PMS group and non-PMS group in level of education (p< 0.05), sweets consumption (p< 0.05) and family’s status (p< 0.05). There was no significant association between PMS and BMI. Conclusion: Based on the findings, it seems that the occurrence of PMS is associated with sweet consumption frequency. This study showed also that the most common PMS symptoms were irritability and backache.

Menstrual Hygiene Practice among Adolescent Girls in the Public Schools of Mahalaxmi Municipality in Lalitpur District

Introduction: Sustainable maintenance of good menstrual hygiene practice is crucial for sound reproductive health, education, dignity, and empowerment of adolescent girls. Menstrual hygiene is less addressed in Nepalese context. So this study aimed to assess the menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls in the public schools of Mahalaxmi Municipality in Lalitpur district.
 Methods: A cross sectional study was adopted among 190 respondents of grades 8, 9 and 10 from three public schools of Mahalaxmi Municipality in Lalitpur District. Sample was selected by using simple random technique through lottery method. Data were collected using pre-tested self-administered semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS version 16 for window. Bivariables and multivariable logistic analysis were computed to identify factors associated with good menstrual hygiene practice.
 Results: The mean age (±SD) of the study participants and menarche were 15.04 ±1.10 years and 12.86 ±0.96 years. About 43.7% used sanitary pad to absorb their menstrual bleeding, 65.8% disposed the used absorbent in dustbin, 41.1% took daily bath and 40% changed their absorbent three or more times during menstruation. Overall, 62.1% of them had good level of menstrual hygiene practices. Good menstrual hygiene practice was significantly associated with increase in age (AOR: 1.186, 95% CI: 0.540-2.603) living in nuclear family (AOR: 1.664, 95% CI: 0.884-3.281) up in grade (AOR: 2.688, 95% CI: 1.216-5.940) having regular menstruation one year and more(AOR:1.763, 95% CI: 0.838-3.711) and availability of water inside the toilet (AOR:1.226, 95% CI: 0.533-2.820).
 Conclusion: Considerable percentages of adolescent girls in the public schools have poor menstrual hygiene practice. Therefore, provision of appropriate school health programs and basic sustainable sanitation is needed to enhance menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls.

Assessment of Free Sanitary Pad Intervention Programme for Girls’ Education and School Retention in Tolon District in the Northern Region of Ghana

The purpose of this study was to examine the Free Sanitary Pad Intervention Programme for Girls’ Education and School Retention in Tolon District in the Northern Region of Ghana. Quantitatively, a descriptive cross-sectional research design was adopted for the study. The study population consist of female menstruating school adolescent girls from these five St, Monica’s R/C, Nyankpala D/A, Nizamia E/A, Islamia E/A and Nawaria E/A junior high schools between the ages of 10 to 22 years who were beneficiaries of CAMFED intervention programmes in the Tolon district. A homogeneous purposive sampling technique was used to select the five junior high schools and the one-hundred and fifty (150) adolescent girls in their menstrual cycle stage. The main instrument for data collection was a semi-structured questionnaire. The data entry and analysis were done by using the SPSS version 20 software package. The data was edited, coded and analysed into frequencies, percentages with interpretations. The study concluded that, there were frequent distribution of free sanitary pads among the beneficiaries’ schools. The study also indicated that the education given to the respondents during the distribution of the free sanitary pads led to improved menstrual hygiene management practices. It is recommended that, schools within the Tolon district should put in place the necessary and adequate toiletry and disposal systems to ensure menstrual hygiene among students especially, girls, during that time of the month. It is also recommended that, Government should make it a priority to provide every school with some sanitary products and drugs to cater for the female student taken by surprise with her monthly flow or the pain associated with mensuration not interfering with her academic work.

Prevalence of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Iranian Adolescent Girls Based on Adults and Adolescents' Diagnostic Criteria in Mashhad City.

PCOS is a common endocrine disorder of reproductive age with high morbidity that its prevalence ranging from 5.6% to 26%. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of PCOS in Iranian adolescent girls aged 14-19 years based on adults and adolescents' criteria. This cross-sectional study was carried out with 650 high school adolescent girls in Mashhad city, north-east of Iran. PCOS was defined as the presence of three or two of the three features including oligo/amenorrhea, clinical or biochemical hyperandrogenism, and polycystic ovaries. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and t-test were used to analyze the data through SPSS vs 22 (SPSS Inc., USA) and the significance level was set at p≤0.05. The mean age of adolescent girls was 16.73±3.4 years. The prevalence of PCOS using Rotterdam, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Androgen Excess-PCOS Society (AES), European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE)/American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) (2012), and Endocrine Society Clinical Practice (2013) criteria was 4.2%, 3.6%, 3.6%, 0.7%, and 3.6%, respectively. The rate for prevalence of PCOS calculated based on Rotterdam, NIH, AES, and Endocrine Society (2013) criteria was higher in comparison to ESHRE/ASRM (2012) criteria. According to the results of our study, in order to prevent overestimation of this syndrome's prevalence in the adolescents due to its overlap with signs of pubertal development, all above-mentioned three criteria should be considered together, which is in line with the recommendations proposed by Carmina et al. and ESHRE/ASRM working group.

Socio-cultural factors associated with knowledge, attitudes and menstrual hygiene practices among Junior High School adolescent girls in the Kpando district of Ghana: A mixed method study

BackgroundGood menstrual hygiene practice is critical to the health of adolescent girls and women. In Ghanaian public schools, the School Health Education Program which includes menstrual health education has been instituted to equip adolescents with knowledge on menstruation and its related good hygiene practices. However, in most communities, menstruation is scarcely discussed openly due to mostly negative social and religious beliefs about menstruation. In this study, we examined socio-cultural factors associated with knowledge, attitudes and menstrual hygiene practices among Junior High School adolescent girls in the Kpando Municipality of Ghana.Materials and methodsA mixed method approach was employed with 480 respondents. A survey was conducted among 390 adolescent girls using interviewer-administered questionnaires to collect data on knowledge of menstruation and menstrual hygiene practices. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) using a discussion guide were conducted among 90 respondents in groups of 9 members. The FGD was used to collect data on socio-cultural beliefs and practices regarding menstruation. Descriptive and inferential statistics and content analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data respectively.ResultsMost (80%) of the study participants had good knowledge of menstruation. Also, most (82%) of the participants practiced good menstrual hygiene. Attending a public (AOR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.12–0.48, p<0.001) and rural (AOR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.21–0.75, p<0.01) school was significantly associated with reduced odds of practicing good menstrual hygiene. Good knowledge of menstruation was associated with increased odds of good hygiene practices (AOR = 4.31, 95% CI = 2.39–7.90, p<0.001). Qualitative results showed that teachers provided adolescents with more detailed biological information on menstruation than key informants (family members) did at menarche. However, both teachers and family members spoke positively of menstruation to adolescent girls. Social and religious beliefs indicate that menstruation is evil and unclean. Such beliefs influenced community members’ attitudes towards adolescent girls and led to practices such as isolating menstruating girls and limiting their ability to interact and participate in certain community and religious activities.ConclusionDespite the prominence of negative social and religious beliefs about menstruation, good menstrual hygiene practice was high among study participants. Knowledge of menstruation; place of residents; and type of school were the major factors associated with good menstrual hygiene practice. It is therefore, necessary to intensify the School Health Education Program in both rural and urban public and intensively involve private schools as well to ensure equal access to accurate information on menstruation and good menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls.