Context:There are vast disparities of information gap between urban and rural adolescent girls in India, which do have an impact on the practices during menstruation.Aim:To assess and compare the knowledge, perceptions, and practices of adolescent girls regarding menstrual hygiene in rural and urban areas of Jodhpur.Settings and Design:It was a cross-sectional study, which was conducted on school going adolescent girls in urban and rural schools of Jodhpur.Materials and Methods:The sample size for the study was 450, which was divided into rural and urban adolescent girls. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection.Statistical Analysis Used:Data were analyzed using SPSS v. 16. Inferences were drawn using Chi-square test and t test.Results:The mean age of menarche was 13.41 ± 1.07 years. A significantly more number of girls from an urban area (56.2%) were using sanitary napkins during menstruation. Only around one-fourth of the girls in study area had ever been counseled for menstrual hygiene. Awareness about adolescent health clinic was significantly more among urban girls.Conclusion:Significant differences were observed among urban and rural adolescent girls in terms of knowledge, perception, and practices related to menstrual hygiene.
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