Good Menstrual Hygiene Research Articles

Knowledge and Practices of Menstrual Hygiene among Adolescent Girls of Government Women College Parade, Jammu (J&K)

Adolescence is a transition period from childhood to adulthood. In this period one of the major physiological changes that takes place in the adolescent girls is the onset of menstruation. Good menstrual hygiene is crucial for the health and dignity of girls and women. The present study was aimed to assess the knowledge and reported practices of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls of selected Government College, Parade, Jammu (J&K). The sample consisted of 50 adolescent girls. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample. Socio-demographic profile and self-structured questionnaire was used to assess the level of knowledge and practice regarding menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls. The study concluded that the knowledge among adolescent girls was good and practices used them were satisfactory. There is need to increase knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene and make adolescents practice good hygiene habits to prevent various pelvic infections and diseases.

Assessing the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Menstrual Hygiene Management Among Junior High Schools Adolescent Females in the Yendi Municipality in the Northern Region of Ghana

Introduction: Every year, different batches of adolescent girls between the ages of 10-19 years experience menarche often unprepared to manage the menstruation hygienically. In Ghana, most girls enter adolescence when they are in basic schools, which make menstrual hygiene among girls in Junior High Schools very important. This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of menstrual hygiene management among both premenarcheal and post-menarcheal adolescent students in basic schoolsin the Yendi Municipality in Ghana. Methods: the study was cross sectional and used quantitative research methods. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the female adolescent students aged 10-19 years. A total of 412 female adolescents from 9 basic schools in the Yendi Municipality participated in the study. Students were scored for their level of knowledge, attitude and practices of menstrual hygiene management. Results: The study found that although awareness of menstruation was universal, the Likert scores showed that 67.5% had adequate knowledge of menstrual hygiene management. About a tenth (13.6%) of the adolescent female students had a positive attitude towards menstrual hygiene management and a third (31.1%) practised good menstrual hygiene management. Older age and living with both parents were the main predictors of knowledge of menstrual hygiene management (P < 0.05). Similarly, age, staying with both parents, staying with mother only, access to funds and having adequate knowledge of menstruation were the main determinants of good menstrual hygiene management practice among adolescent girls in basic schools in Yendi Municipality (P < 0.05). Conclusions and recommendations: more than half of the respondents have adequate knowledge but their awareness and knowledge did not translate to positive attitude towards good menstrual hygiene management practices due to negative socio-cultural norms and practices among others that tend to stigmatise menstruation.

MENSTRUAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG URBAN AND RURAL ADOLESCENTS IN BAHIR DAR CITY ADMINISTRATION, NORTHWEST ETHIOPIA

ABSTRACTBACKGROUND: Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) practice varies greatly from country to country, and within the countries. Ethiopia has adopted youth friendly reproductive health and sexual health services to improve the health of young people including adolescents. Credible evidence on MHM practice at community level after adoption of youth friendly service is limited.OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess MHM practice among adolescent girls in urban and rural areas.METHODS: A community based comparative cross-sectional study design was employed in urban and rural kebeles of Bahir Dar city administration. Multi-stage stratified random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were entered in to SPSS version 16. Descriptive statistics were used to describe data. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of good menstrual hygiene practice.RESULTS: Safe MHM practice was 24.5% and did not show significant variation between urban and rural adolescent girls. However, significantly higher numbers of adolescent girls in the urban area used sanitary pads than the rural adolescent girls. Being older, attending formal education and educational status of participants’ mother were factors associated with safe MHM practice.KEYWORDS: menstrual, hygiene, practice, adolescent, girls, Ethiopia(Ethiopian Journal of Reproductive Health; 2018; 10; 4: 10-20)

Knowledge and Practices Regarding Menstrual Hygiene among Mentally Retarded Females at Schools

AbstractBackground: Unhygienic practices during menstruation among mentally retarded female students' endanger their reproductive health and expose them to reproductive diseases such as reproductive tract infections and pelvic inflammatory diseases.Aim: This study aimed to assess knowledge and reported practices regarding menstrual hygiene among mentally retarded female students' at Cairo Governorate preparatory mainstream schools.Design: A descriptive exploratory research design was utilized in this study.Setting: Three educational departments were selected randomly from all educational departments at Cairo Gover-norate. All schools that are affiliated to these three educational departments were included in the study. Total number was 14 preparatory mainstream schools.The study Sample: Convenient sample of 100 mentally retarded female students' from the fourteen selected schools were included in the study.Tool for Data Collection: One tool consisted of three parts was used to collect data pertinent to the study. First part: Student questionnaire about demographic characteristics of the mentally retarded female students' and their parents. Second part: Data about level of knowledge regarding men-struation and menstrual hygiene. Third part: Data about reported practices regarding menstrual hygiene.Results: Study result revealed that 86% of the mentally retarded female students' had poor knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene, while 14% of them had good knowledge. Regarding reported practices 80% of them had poor practice, while 20% had good practice. There were statistically signif-icant relationship between practice scores and the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) with p-value=0.006. There were statistically significant relationship between practice scores and family history of mental retardation with p-value=0.001, between knowledge scores and students' IQ with p-value=0.001 and between total knowledge scores and total practice scores with p-value=0.042.Conclusion: The study concluded that, the majority of mentally retarded females have poor knowledge and practice regarding menstrual hygiene.Recommendations: The study recommended that imple-mentation of educational program to parents and mentally retarded female students' about the menstruation and good menstrual hygiene is very important.

Menstrual hygiene among adolescent school girls in Kano

Background: Adolescent girls often lack knowledge regarding reproductive health including menstruation that could be due to sociocultural barriers in which they grow up. Materials and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional survey conducted among adolescent girls in three secondary schools at Kano, from 1st January to 31st December, 2016. Ethical approval was obtained from Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Ethics Committee and Kano State Ministry of Health. Consent/assent was obtained from all the participants/guardians. Data obtained were recorded on questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 18 Statistical Software. Fishers' exact test was used in this study and P value of ≤0.05 was considered significant. Result: During the study period (from January to December, 2016), 219 adolescent secondary school girls participated in the survey. The mean age (±SD) was 16.1 ± 1.34 years. There was no statistically significant association between the mean age at menarche and the socioeconomic status of their parents (P [Fishers'] = 0.817). Up to 202 (92.2%) adolescent girls had premanarcheal counseling. Most of the information on premenarcheal counseling was provided by the parents/guardians 139 (62.9%) followed by the school teachers 42 (19.0%). Sanitary pads were the most used menstrual absorbent among the adolescents 202 (92.2%). Other menstrual absorbent used by the adolescents were toilet roll 11 (5.0%) and cloth 5 (2.3%). Among the methods of disposal of menstrual absorbent, dustbin 161 (73.9%) was the most used followed by disposal in the toilet 32 (14.7%), and burning 21 (9.6%). Other methods of disposal used by the adolescents were by washing it or road side/farm/over the fence disposal 4 (1.8%). Conclusion: There was good menstrual hygiene among the adolescent school girls. Sanitary pads were the most used menstrual absorbent.

Menstrual Hygiene Practices Among Adolescent Girls of Urban and Rural Schools of Ludhiana, Punjab

Menstruation is still regarded as something unclean or dirty in Indian society, related with misconceptions and cultural restrictions. Lack of knowledge and poor hygienic practices during menstruation can lead to various gynecological problems in the reproductive life of girls. In this community based cross sectional study on 100 adolescent girls (50 from urban and 50 from rural) age 13-18 years of urban and rural schools were randomly selected (lottery method) from two conveniently selected schools of Ludhiana district of Punjab. Data was collected in March 2013. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the socio-demographic data, menstrual profile and Likert’s scale was used to assess the menstrual hygiene practices. The descriptive statistics, unpaired t test, ANOVA test was used for analysis. Menstruation hygiene practice was found to be more in urban adolescent girls as compared to rural. Majority (n=17, 34%) of urban girls had excellent menstrual hygiene practices and 44 (88%) of urban girls were using commercially available sanitary pads as compared to 31 (62%) of rural girls. The majority of urban girls i.e. 31 (62%) and rural girls i.e. 38 (76%) had good menstrual hygiene practices. The mean score of menstrual hygiene practices of urban adolescent girls was higher i.e. 28.24 than the mean score of menstrual hygiene practices of rural adolescent girls (25.18). But the difference was statistically non-significant at p=0.05 level of significance. There was no association between menstrual hygiene practices and selected demographic variables. Efforts should be made to improve the menstrual hygiene practices of rural and urban adolescent girls so that vulnerability to reproductive tract infections be decreased and suffering of millions of women can be mitigated.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Menstrual Hygiene Management among School Adolescents.

Menstrual hygiene management remains a taboo in many communities in Nepal. Cultural beliefs about menstruation such as food taboos and untouchability have negative impact on dignity, health and education of adolescent girls. The objective of the study was to assess the current knowledge, attitude and practice of school adolescents on menstrual hygiene management in Doti District in Far-Western Nepal. This cross-sectional study was carried out from October to December 2016 at seven village development committees in Doti district, Nepal. This study was done among 276 students from grade seven and eight of 11 schools. Self-administered structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from school students. Descriptive analysis was done to analyse the knowledge, attitude and practice of school adolescents on menstrual hygiene management. 67.4% respondents had fair knowledge and 26.4% respondents had good knowledge on menstrual hygiene management. However, out of 141 female adolescent respondents, only 56 (40%) were engaged in good menstrual hygiene practices. Around half of the respondents had positive attitude towards menstrual hygiene management related issues. Although knowledge on menstrual hygiene management among school adolescents is fair, still attitude and practice need to improve. Findings indicate the need of behavior change communication campaigns along with frequent reinforcement of school health education programs.

Women Health and Menstrual Hygiene Management in Natural Disasters: A Study in Islampur Upazila of Jamalpur District

The study examines health and menstrual hygiene management of disaster affected women at Kulkandi Village under Islampur Upazila of Jamalpur District and explores their needs and problems regarding menstrual hygiene issues during disasters. This present study based mainly on primary field investigation including questionnaire survey with women and girls, focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) reveals that unhygienic sanitation and unclean water during disaster leads them to severe health issues including gynaecological problems. A significant number of respondents (21%) experienced urinary tract infections and 24% faced rashes on sensitive private parts of their bodies. Managing their menstruation and maintaining a good standard of menstrual hygiene is difficult for them because of the factors established in this study, such as inadequate knowledge, culture and traditions, inadequate facilities and services, poverty and lack of access to health care. Effective cooperation from both the government agencies and NGOs is needed to promote good menstrual hygiene management (health care issues, sanitary pads in relief materials, workshops) in the study&#x0D; Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh, Sci. 43(1): 83-99, June 2017

Assessment of knowledge regarding menstruation and practices related to maintenance of menstrual hygiene among the women of reproductive age group in a slum of Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Background: Menstruation is a normal biological process and a key sign of reproductive health. Unfortunately, the taboo surrounding menstruation prevents women from articulating their needs. There is lack of awareness on the process of menstruation and hygienic management of the same. So, the problem of poor menstrual hygiene still persists in society. Objectives: 1) To elicit the knowledge regarding menstruation among the women of reproductive age group 2) To find out the practice of menstrual hygiene among them.Methods: A community based, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at Baghbazar slum, Kolkata. A total of 160 menstruating women of the age group between 15-45 years were included. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 20. Results: Only 32 women (20%) had idea before menarche regarding menstruation. 65% women used only sanitary pad and 30% used only cloth pieces where as 5% used both pad and cloth piece. Prevalence of sanitary pad use was significantly higher among those aged &lt;25 years (p&lt;0.05). With increasing literacy status as well as socio economic status, use of sanitary pad was also found to be increased and this difference was statistically significant (p&lt;0.05). About 42% of the cloth piece users reused cloth piece. All those, who reused cloth pieces, washed the used cloth pieces with soap and water and 50% of them dried those under sunlight. All the women practised some kind of restriction during menstruation. About 4% individuals did not take regular bath during their bleeding period. Some women (37.5%) suffered from reproductive tract infection during or just after menstruation. Most of the study subjects (95.6%) disposed used napkins in municipal vat.Conclusions: Awareness should be increased regarding maintenance of good menstrual hygiene through health education programme.

KNOWLEDGE,ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE IN PREVENTION WITH GENITAL UNDER TRACT INFECTION OF 15-49 YEAR-OLD KHMER WOMEN IN CAN THO

Objective: To understand the problems in relation to the Knowledge,attitude and practice in prevention with genital under tract infection of 15-49 year-old Khmer women in Can Tho. Discuss prevention strategies aim to improve the effectiveness of prevention of genital under tract infection. Methods: Cross-sectional study of Khmer women in Can Tho city. To conduct directly interviews to collect data through questions about the relevant con. Results: The average age of Khmer women participating is 35.6 ± 10.5 (min 15, max 49). The rate of graduated in high school older is 12.1%; 44.6% living with family. Rating good knowledge 31.2%, Only 37.2% Khmer women in interview have the right attitude about the prevention of genital under tract infection, Good Practices (565 women, accounting for 60%). In particular, Good menstrual hygiene is 93.5%, Good hygiene in sex accounts for 83.5%; Using clean water is hygienic (81.1%); toilet is standard (82.6%). There is a relationship between knowledge, attitude, practice with their family situation, age group, place of residence, education, occupation, the family economy, living with family, marital situation. Conclusion: Need to plan and conduct communication interventions for the prevention of genital under tract infection. Focus on the factors that have been identified and related to genital under tract infection of Khmer women in local. Key words: Genital under tract infection, Khmer women, knowledge, attitude, practice

Determinants of menstrual hygiene among school going adolescent girls in a rural area of West Bengal.

Background:Menstrual hygiene is a neglected issue in rural India. Lack of menstrual hygiene in adolescent girls can make them susceptible to various morbidities, for example, reproductive tract infection and urinary tract infection and their long-term consequences, for example, cervical cancer, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. This study aims to find out the determinants of menstrual hygiene among the school going adolescent girls in a rural area of West Bengal.Objectives:To elicit the menstrual hygiene practices among the study population and to find out the association of poor menstrual hygiene practices with sociodemographic factors, such as age, occupation and education of the parents, housing, and presence of sanitary toilet.Materials and Methods:A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 307 school going adolescent girls of 12–17 years age group in a rural area of West Bengal.Results:Majority of the students in both schools (62.9%) were Hindu, general caste (54.1%) and belonged to nuclear family (69.7%). Most of the parents in both schools had completed their education up to primary level. Bivariate analyses were done, and the significant factors predicting good menstrual hygiene were entered into the multivariable logistic regression model. It revealed that good menstrual hygiene was more among those whose mothers were educated (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] 2.3 [1.06–5.01]), and who were homemakers (AOR 2.3 [1.06–5.01]).Conclusions:Menstrual hygiene among the study population was found to be poor. The improving education level of the mothers can go a long way in improving menstrual hygiene practice.

Assessment of menstrual hygiene among reproductive age women in South-west Delhi.

Background:The issue of menstrual hygiene is inadequately acknowledged in our nation. The use of sanitary pads and washing the genital area are essential practices for good menstrual hygiene. Poor menstrual hygiene may lead to itching or rashes in the perineal region, bad odor, and sometimes, major complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease and toxic shock syndrome. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among reproductive age group women.Methods:A Community-based cross-sectional study design was employed. Study was conducted from January 2012 to April 2013. Data were collected using a pretested semi-structured structured questionnaire. The data were entered and analyzed into a computer using SPSS version 20.Results:In this study, 584 (81.7%) respondents had good practice of menstrual hygiene. The findings of the study showed a significant positive association between good practices of menstrual hygiene and years of education of the study subject (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =9.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.4–19.5), having a higher socioeconomic status (AOR = 9.27, 95% CI: 4.7–18.03).Conclusions:Awareness of good menstrual practices is of utmost importance. Health education regarding menstrual hygiene should be a part of school curriculum and health institutes. Social marketing of good quality, low-cost sanitary napkins at accessible outlets, provision for adequate water supply, vending machines for low-cost sanitary napkins, privacy and wall-mounted incinerators for disposal in schools, workplaces, and public places would go a long way in improving the menstrual hygiene and help them in securing healthy lifestyle.

Menstrual Hygiene Practice and Associated Factors among Secondary School Girls in Wegera District, Northwest Ethiopia; a Cross-Sectional Study

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.

Practice of Menstrual Hygiene and Associated Factors among Female High School Students in Adama Town

Background: Good menstrual hygienic practices are essential during menstruation period. Young women especially in developing countries often lack information about good menstrual hygiene practices. The objective of this study was to assess the level of menstrual hygienic practice and the associated factors among female high school students in Adama town. Methods: A cross-sectional, institution based study was conducted from April 11th-25th, 2016. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the participants. Data was cleaned, coded and entered in to Epi-data 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 20:00. Binary and multiple logistic regression analysis were done to determine the association between the menstrual hygienic practice and the predicator variables. A p-value of less than 0.05 was taken as significant association. Result: A total of 398 female students were involved in the study giving a response rate of 94.3%. Of the total respondents about 57% had good level of menstrual hygiene practice. Mothers education status [AOR=0.608; 95% CI=0.374-0.990], source of money for sanitary materials [AOR=2.267; 95% CI=1.076, 4.772], respondents feeling on comfort ability of the school [AOR=0.557; 95% CI=0.366-0.846] were significantly associated with level of knowledge about menstrual hygienic practice. Conclusion: The study showed that more than half of the respondents had good level of menstrual hygiene practice. Mothers’ educational status, source of money for sanitary materials and respondents feeling on comfort ability of the school were found to be predictors of menstrual hygiene practice among the students. Thus, designing health information and communication programs on awareness about menstruation and menstrual hygiene practice is implicated.

KNOWLEDGE,ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE IN PREVENTION WITH GENITAL UNDER TRACT INFECTION OF 15-49 YEAR-OLD KHMER WOMEN IN CAN THO

Objective: to understand the problems in relation to the knowledge, attitude and practice in prevention in genital under tract infection of 15-49 year-old Khmer women at Can Tho. Methods: Cross-sectional study of Khmer women in Can Tho city. To conduct directly interviews to collect data through questions about the relevant con. Results: The average age of Khmer women participating is 35.6 ± 10.5 (min 15, max 49). The rate of graduated in high school older is 12,1%; 44.6% living with family. Rating good knowledge 31.2%, Only 37.2% Khmer women in interview have the right attitude about the prevention of genital under tract infection, Good Practices (565 women, accounting for 60%). In particular, Good menstrual hygiene is 93.5%, Good hygiene in sex accounts for 83.5%; Using clean water is hygienic (81.1%); toilet is standard (82.6%). There is a relationship between knowledge, attitude, practice with their family situation, age group, place of residence, education, occupation, the family economy, living with family, marital situation. Conclusion: Need to plan and conduct communication interventions for the prevention of genital under tract infection. Focus on the factors that have been identified and related to genital under tract infection of Khmer women in local. Keywords: genital under tract infection, Khmer women, Knowledge, attitude, practice.

Wings to Flyy- But to Where? Menstrual Hygiene, Marketization and Vulnerability Among Subaltern Women in India

In this exploratory study we look at how marketization and marketing of disposable sanitary napkins (DSN) is creating new vulnerabilities among subaltern women of India. A pilot study was done around Auroville near Puducherry in southern India. Our initial findings suggest that there is significant marketization of menstrual hygiene, evident from multiple reports, media coverage, advertisements and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of leading MNCs and market-making policies of the Indian government. The entire effort is geared to promote DSNs among sections of women who have been using traditional methods like cloth. Good menstrual hygiene practices can lead to improved quality of life for women and young girls. However, the solutions projected through marketization and marketing of DSNs can lead to new problems and vulnerabilities for the subaltern consumer.

Relationship between Female University Students' Knowledge on Menstruation and Their Menstrual Hygiene Practices: A Study in Tamale, Ghana.

Positive perception about menstruation and good menstrual hygiene practice safeguards the health of postpubescent females by reducing their vulnerability to reproductive and urinary tract infections. Using a questionnaire, a cross-sectional study involving 293 randomly selected female undergraduate students in northern Ghana assessed the relationship between knowledge on menstruation and the practice of safe menstrual hygiene. Data collected was analyzed using GraphPad 5.01. This study found that although majority of respondents (73.4%) were aware of menstruation before menarche, most of them experienced fear and panic when it occurred. Mothers were the first to be informed when menstruation occurred, although teachers first provided them knowledge on menstruation. Respondents' knowledge on menstruation was average (57.3%) but their menstrual hygiene practice was good (80.2%). Age (p = 0.005) and course of study (p = 0.0008) significantly influenced respondents' knowledge on menstruation with older students as well as the medical and midwifery students being most knowledgeable. Muslim rather than Christian female students practiced better menstrual hygiene (p = 0.0001). Average knowledge score on menstruation indicated a deficit of knowledge on the anatomy and physiology of the female reproductive system. Increasing knowledge on menstruation had a positive and significant effect on practice of good menstrual hygiene.

A comparative cross sectional study of knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in rural and urban schools of Rural Karnataka

Background: Comprehensive knowledge about good menstrual hygiene practice right from childhood may promote safe practices and may help in mitigating the suffering of women throughout their reproductive age. Among adolescent girls there is shyness and embarrassment regarding discussions about menstruation with friends and family members which can lead to adoption of non-scientific methods during menstruation. Objectives: To assess the knowledge and practices related to menstrual hygiene among rural and urban school going adolescent girls and to provide health education regarding menstrual hygiene. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in August to October, 2015 among 220 school going adolescent girls. A pretested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data after obtaining informed consent and assent. Descriptive statistics like proportions and frequencies was computed. Chi-square test was the test of significance for qualitative data and p value of < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: 220 adolescent girls were recruited in to the study. Majority of the girls were in the age group 15 years (46.8%), belonging to Hindu religion (90.9%). Urban girls attained menarche at earlier age than their counter parts in rural area. 87.3% & 65.4% of the urban and rural girls respectively used sanitary pads during menstruation. Majority of the girls from urban area (84.5%) got score of >9 for practices during menstruation whereas 52.7% of rural girls got an overall score >9. Most common reason for school absenteeism due to menstruation in both urban and rural girls was abdominal pain, second most common reason was fear of leak. Conclusion: Knowledge regarding menstruation was almost similar among the girls studying in both urban and rural schools. However, the practices during menstruation were not optimal in rural girls compared to urban girls. A variety of factors like lack of sanitary latrine and adverse social customs were found to be af

Assessment of knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among high school girls in Western Ethiopia

BackgroundThe issue of menstrual hygiene is inadequately acknowledged and has not received proper attention. Use of sanitary pads and washing the genital area are essential practices to keep the menstrual hygiene. Unhygienic menstrual practices can affect the health of the girls and there is an increased vulnerability to reproductive tract infections and pelvic inflammatory diseases and other complications. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among high school girls at Nekemte town, Oromia region, Western Ethiopia.MethodA school based cross-sectional study design was employed in Nekemte Town, Western Ethiopia. A multi stage sampling technique was used to select 828 female high school students. Data collection was carried out from May 04 to May 30, 2014 using a pre- tested structured questionnaire. The data were entered into a computer using Epi-info version 3.5.1 and then exported to SPSS for Windows version 20.0 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was done at 95 % confidence interval.ResultsIn this study, 504 (60.9 %) and 330 (39.9 %) respondents had good knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene respectively. The findings of the study showed a significant positive association between good knowledge of menstruation and educational status of mothers (AOR = 1.51, 95 % CI = 1.02 – 2.22), having radio/TV (AOR = 2.42, 95 % CI: 1.64 – 3.56). Educational status of the mother (AOR = 2.03, 95 % CI = 1.38 – 2.97) and earning permanent pocket money from parents (AOR = 2.73, 95 % CI = 1.76 – 4.26) revealed significant positive association with good practice of menstrual hygiene.ConclusionsThe findings showed that the knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene is low. Awareness regarding the need for information about good menstrual practices is very important. So, health education program should be setup to create awareness and practice of good menstrual hygiene.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12905-015-0245-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Practice of Menstrual Hygiene and Associated Factors among Female Mehalmeda High School Students in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

Introduction: Menstrual hygiene management has not received adequate attention in the reproductive health sectors in developing countries. In Africa the practice of menstrual hygiene management is still poor and the issue is under estimated. Due to poor menstrual hygiene management the adolescent girls are exposed for reproductive tract infection, school absenteeism and increase school dropout rate. Objectives: To assess the practice of menstrual hygiene and associated factors among female Mehalmeda high school students in Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. Methods: Institution based cross sectional study design conducted from April 01 to 30/2013 using multistage sampling technique. Four hundred ninety two study participants were selected and structured pretested questionnaire was used to collect information from the participants. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 Crude odds ratio (COR) and Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was used to identify the association with p value <0.05 as significant. Result: Majority of the participants (90.9%) practiced good menstrual hygiene and had high level of menstrual hygiene knowledge. After bivariate analysis, the significant factors of menstrual hygiene were entered in to the multivariate model. It revealed that good menstrual hygiene was practiced among those participants who had high level of knowledge about menstrual hygiene (OR 5.78: 95% CI, 2.15-15.51), teachers as source of information (OR 7.64: 95% CI, 2.16-27.03) and access for water (OR 6.5: 95% CI, 2.08-20.32) and urban place of residence (OR 2.38: 95% CI, 1.137, 3.05). Conclusion: Majority of the participants had high level of menstrual hygiene knowledge practiced good menstrual hygiene. Different factors affect the practice of menstrual hygiene such as source of information, access of water and knowledge about menstrual hygiene.