“Effectiveness of Hygiene Education Programme on knowledge and practice on Menstrual Health Hygiene Management (MHHM) among early Adolescent girl at selected school”

Abstract

Background of study: Menstruation is a natural biological process that begins at menarche, usually between 10–16 years of age, and is an important phase in the life of adolescent girls. During puberty, girls experience significant physical, neurological, and hormonal changes; however, many are unprepared for menstruation due to limited knowledge and the social stigma surrounding it. Cultural taboos and misconceptions often lead girls to hide menstrual blood and related products, causing anxiety, embarrassment, and poor menstrual hygiene practices. Access to accurate information, sanitary products, and supportive environments is essential for maintaining menstrual health and dignity among adolescent girls.

Globally, inadequate sanitation facilities and lack of water, hygiene, and privacy further challenge menstrual hygiene management (MHM), especially in low-income settings and schools. Studies have shown that many adolescent girls have insufficient knowledge about menstruation and hygiene practices. For example, research among visually impaired adolescent girls reported poor levels of knowledge and inadequate practices related to menstrual hygiene. These findings highlight the need for effective educational interventions. Therefore, implementing hygiene education programmes is important to improve the knowledge and practices of menstrual health hygiene management (MHHM) among early adolescent girls in schools.

Methodology: For this study, a pre-experimental one group pre-test and post-test research design was adopted to assess the effectiveness of a hygiene education programme on menstrual health hygiene management (MHHM) among early adolescent girls. The study was conducted among 100 early adolescent girls aged 11–15 years in a selected school. A simple random sampling technique (lottery method) was used to select the samples. Data were collected using a structured knowledge questionnaire and self-rating practice checklist. The hygiene education programme was given as an intervention, and the post-test was conducted after seven days. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as paired t-test and chi-square test.

Result: The study revealed that before the hygiene education programme, the majority of early adolescent girls had average knowledge (83%) regarding menstrual health hygiene management, while 17% had poor knowledge and none had good knowledge. After the intervention, the post-test results showed a clear improvement, with 58% of the participants demonstrating good knowledge and 42% having average knowledge, while none remained in the poor knowledge category.

Similarly, regarding practice, the pre-test findings showed that 61% of the participants had average practice, 24% had good practice, and 15% had poor practice related to menstrual health hygiene management. After the hygiene education programme, 63% of the early adolescent girls demonstrated good practice and 37% had average practice, with no participants remaining in the poor practice category, indicating the effectiveness of the hygiene education programme.

Conclusion: The findings of the present study indicated Effectiveness of Health education package on practice Regarding menstrual health hygiene management among Early adolescent girls. This notable increase is supported by the paired t-test result of 14.889 and 14.261 with a p-value of 0.000, indicating that the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores is statistically significant. Thus, the results suggest a marked improvement in both knowledge and practice after the intervention.