Knowledge of Menstrual Hygiene and its Management among Rural Adolescent Girls in Tamil Nadu - A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Millions of women across the globe encounter menstrual hygiene related infections and diseases owing to inadequate knowledge. These problems often result in complications in the reproductive tract system. The study was undertaken to assess the knowledge and practice of rural adolescent girls in Krishnagiri district about menstrual hygiene.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was adopted and a multistage stage random sampling technique was used to recruit 204 adolescent girls for the study. A semi-structured interview schedule was used to obtain data from them. The Chi-square test was done to identify the association between their socio-economic status and their knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene.

Results: 76.5% of subjects attained menarche at the age of 13-15 years. 84.3% had experienced restrictions in many forms during their menstruation. 67.2% gained knowledge through the media about the importance of menstrual hygiene, which is much less compared to the knowledge gained through mothers, relatives, and schools. 80.9% used sanitary napkins and 59.3% burned them after using them.

Conclusion: Inadequate knowledge among girls has resulted in poor menstrual hygiene management. Conducting proper behaviour change communication programs and research studies in these areas would mitigate menstrual hygiene related issues.