Menstrual Hygiene Management and Practices in Campuses

Abstract

Studies on menstruation hygiene management (MHM) in education have focused mostly on adolescent school girls indicating the need to investigate this particular phenomenon in the context of higher education. In this study, I wanted to explore the experiences of female students and teachers during menstruation while they are at the campus and document them to unpack the realities of the phenomenon to persuade the campus authorities for better MHM on the campuses. Using the qualitative design, the study is aimed at exploring and probing students and teachers on their MHM practices. This research has nested the life experiences of myself and participants of purposively selected two constituent and one affiliated campuses of Tribhuvan University in the Kathmandu Valley. In-depth interviews with six teachers and focus group discussions with six groups of students were included in this study. The research revealed multiple issues during menstrual hygiene management that include lack of appropriate water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, no access to emergency absorbent during menstruation, no provision of pain killer medicines during uterine cramps (dysmenorrhea) and back-aches and no provision of dust bin for absorbent disposal. This indicates that higher education institutions in Nepal need to pay more attention to ensure dignified menstruation on campus.

Menstrual hygiene among early adolescent girls and its’ related factors

“…The sole information from schools is not enough to resolve the problem of mental hygiene knowledge for adolescents, the collaboration with other parties such as family or friends so that the more sources of information that are obtained by adolescents is necessary, the more positive potential for knowledge of mental hygiene for these adolescents. This is certainly in line with the results of this study [29]. In line with prior study, that adolescent menstrual hygiene behavior was significantly influenced by peer support (p=0.018) and family support (p=0.000) [13].…”

The practice of menstrual hygiene management and associated factors among secondary school girls in eastern Ethiopia: The need for water, sanitation, and hygiene support

“…1,37,72 In addition, strengthening collaborative approaches between stakeholders such as the ministry of education and health, increasing human power professionals with knowledge of adolescent and youth health, structuring and strengthening schools set up for guidance counseling activities, and mainstreaming in the curriculum based on level of education keeping hierarchy and coherency of ideas will play a large role in alleviating the problem at varies level. Similarly, reproductive health programs should aim to raise awareness among parents, teachers, and policymakers about the importance of integrating adolescent and youth health 57,36,[76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84] through targeted training, experience sharing, comparative interventional research, and the generation of scientifically based evidence.…”

Navigating Menstrual Health Challenges An Exploration of University Students’ Experiences amid Financial Constraints

“…Teenage girls in low-and middleincome countries do not manage their menstrual hygiene adequately and pose a serious threat to public health (Majeed et al, 2022). There are several problems with managing menstrual hygiene, such as inadequate access to emergency absorbents during menstruation, lack of appropriate WASH facilities, lack of painkillers for backaches and uterine cramps (dysmenorrhea), and lack of a dust bin for disposing of absorbents (Ghimire, 2020). In Pakistan, during the June-August 2022 floods, more than 33 million people were impacted, and more than 6.4 million of them needed humanitarian aid.…”