Menstrual hygiene and their predictors among school going adolescent girls in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

The prevalence of menstrual problems is high during adolescence according to published literature. It is essential to determine the menstrual hygiene practices among the adolescent girls and their predictors so as to ascertain the modalities for prevention of menstrual problems. The present study was conducted to evaluate the menstrual problems, menstrual hygiene and their risk factors.This cross-sectional study was carried out among 244 school going adolescent girls in the field practice area of our institution. The participants were selected using two stage sampling. A structured interview schedule was used to obtain information regarding the demographic details, menstrual problems and menstrual hygiene. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS software. Chi square test was used to analyze the statistical significance.The present study showed a high prevalence for dysmenorrhea (75.4%). About 72.1% of the participants consume over-the-counter medicines for menstrual problems. Majority of the participants (92.2%) use sanitary napkins as absorbent materials. Only 22.1% of the participants wash their genitalia with soap and water during menstruation. About 10.2% of the participants do not take bath during menstruation. Age was a significant risk factor for menstrual hygiene (p<0.05).The present study has emphasized on the need for creating awareness during the early adolescent age in order to inculcate hygienic menstrual practices. It is essential to make sanitary napkins available and affordable in the lower income groups. Moreover, there is a growing need to incorporate adolescent specific health services in the public health system.