Study of Menstrual Hygiene Practices Among Adolescent Girls in a Tribal Area of Central India.

Autor: Borkar SK; Community Medicine, Datta Meghe Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur, IND., Borkar A; Community Medicine, Datta Meghe Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur, IND., Shaikh MK; Community Medicine, Datta Meghe Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur, IND., Mendhe H; Community Medicine, Datta Meghe Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur, IND., Ambad R; Biochemistry, Datta Meghe Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur, IND., Joshi A; Community Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, IND.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Cureus [Cureus] 2022 Oct 13; Vol. 14 (10), pp. e30247. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Oct 13 (Print Publication: 2022).
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.30247
Abstrakt: Introduction Menstruation is an essential phenomenon in an adolescent girl's life. In India, females who are menstruating are considered impure and teenage girls are not allowed to undertake home chores or engage in religious or cultural events during their period. Up-to-date knowledge about menstruation, beginning in early adolescence, would improve safe practices and relieve the distress of millions of women. Material and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent girls (10-19 years) residing in a tribal area of Nagpur District from January to March 2022. Three tribal residential schools (Ashram Shala) were selected from a total of six in Hingana Taluka of Nagpur District, using simple random sampling to fulfill the required sample size of 272. Demographic details, age at menarche, awareness of menstruation, sources of information about menstruation, menstrual hygiene practices, and restrictions observed during menstruation were assessed. Results The average age at menarche was 13.04+0.96 years (range 11-16 years). Only 45.17% of girls were aware of the menarche and menstrual cycle before its onset. The duration of the menstrual cycle ranged from 21-35 days in most of the girls (90.69%), and it was regular in 85.86% of girls. Duration of bleeding was two to six days for the majority of the girls (87.93%). Around 73.79% of girls were using sanitary pads, while 26.21% of girls were using clothes. The most important restrictions imposed on the girls during menstruation were not being allowed to attend religious functions (97.93%), followed by not being allowed to attend classes (65.86%). The use of sanitary pads was significantly more in late adolescent girls than in early adolescent girls (ꭓ 2 =14.97, p=0.0001), girls who have literate mothers than girls with illiterate mothers (ꭓ 2 =5.17, p=0.02), and girls belonging to higher socioeconomic classes (class I, II, III) than lower ones (class IV, V) (ꭓ 2 =44.23, p<0.0001). Conclusion The tribal adolescent girls still don't exercise proper hygiene throughout their periods. During menstruation, the majority of girls are still subjected to various restrictions.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright © 2022, Borkar et al.)
Databáze: MEDLINE