EMPOWERING ADOLESCENTS: EXPLORING MENSTRUAL HYGIENE AWARENESS AND PRACTICES AMONG SCHOOLGIRLS IN PESHAWAR- A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52764/jms.23.31.4.12Keywords:
awareness, practices, menstrual hygiene, adolescent girls, menstruationAbstract
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the awareness and practices relating to menstrual hygiene among school -going adolescent girls of Peshawar, Pakistan
Materials and methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was employed in Hayatabad, Peshawar from February, 2022 to July, 2022. A multi-stage simple random sampling technique was used to select four schools. Data was collected from 200 adolescent girls through self-administered questionnaires and statistical analysis was done using SPSS. Descriptive data were expressed in the form of mean±SD, frequencies and percentages. Chi square test was applied to find the association between sociodemographic factors and menstrual hygiene practices. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Out of 200 girls who took part in the study, 120 (60%) exhibited inadequate awareness of menstrual hygiene, while 86 (43%) demonstrated poor hygiene practices during menstruation. 115 (57.5%) knew that hormones were the cause of menstruation. Disposable sanitary pads were the most commonly used absorbents, followed by cloth. The menstrual hygiene practices were significantly associated with the education status of mother (p= 0.022) and the occupation of father (p= 0.047).
Conclusion: The results of our study revealed a concerning trend: approximately two-thirds of the respondents exhibited inadequate awareness, while one-third demonstrated suboptimal hygiene practices related to menstruation. This demonstrates the need to make efforts to educate adolescent girls about more hygienic and safer methods of managing menstruation and such products are made more affordable and accessible to them.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Uzma Mahmood, Hifsa Hifsa, Beenish Qazi, Izaz Akhtar, Sadiq ur Rehman, Muhammad Asim, Parsa Mustafa, Hafiza Sabahat Iqbal, Kashan Zafar, Muhammad Junaid
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