Dudeja Puja, Sindhu Apoorva, Shankar Pooja, Gadekar Tukaram
Department of Community Medicine, AFMC,Pune, Phone: +9673382611.
Department of Community Medicine, AFMC,Pune.
Int J Adolesc Med Health. 2016 Oct 14;30(4):/j/ijamh.2018.30.issue-4/ijamh-2016-0079/ijamh-2016-0079.xml. doi: 10.1515/ijamh-2016-0079.
Reproductive health of adolescent girls is crucial as it determines the health of future generations. School girls when experiencing menarche find themselves in a setting without water, toilets or a supportive female teacher to explain the changes happening in their body. An important concern for adolescent girls is to have adequate, correct knowledge along with facilities and the cultural environment to manage menstruation hygienically and with dignity. Hence, the present study was done to assess knowledge and practices about menstruation in adolescent school girls of an urban slum.
This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among girls of a Government School located in an urban slum of western Maharashtra. A total of 250 girls participated. Data collection was through a pilot-tested questionnaire. The data thus collected were entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using the SPSS 20 software. All girls were educated about menstrual hygiene after the study.
The mean age of the students was 14.9±1.75 years. The mean age at menarche was 11.97 (95% CI: 11.94-11.99). It was observed that only half (56.4%) had acquired prior knowledge about attaining menarche. Out of these in a large proportion, the knowledge was imparted to them by their mothers (60.7%), followed by friends (31.8%). There was no significant association between educational status of mother and awareness in respondent about menstruation. Regarding the organ of menstrual blood flow, half (50.7%) knew the correct answer (i.e. uterus); whereas the rest believed that it was stomach/kidney, etc. Most of the school girls (90.5%) used sanitary pads. Almost 90% of the young women faced physical complaints or health problems during menstruation. Most of the participants had some kind of restrictions on them during the menstruation and most of these were religious restrictions (69.7%) followed by physical (41.2%) and social restrictions (22.3%). All of them were unsatisfied with the toilets and hand washing facilities available inside the school premises.
Correct knowledge in adolescent young girls regarding menstruation is lacking. Lack of awareness is a roadblock in adopting safe and hygienic menstrual practices. It also hinders them from overcoming traditional beliefs, misconceptions and restrictions regarding menstruation. This will empower them as they transition into womanhood.
青春期女孩的生殖健康至关重要，因为它决定着后代的健康。女学生初潮时发现自己所处的环境没有水、厕所，也没有能给予支持的女教师来解释她们身体发生的变化。青春期女孩的一个重要关切是要拥有足够、正确的知识以及相应设施和文化环境，以便能卫生且有尊严地管理经期。因此，本研究旨在评估城市贫民窟青春期女学生关于月经的知识和做法。
这是一项描述性横断面研究，在位于马哈拉施特拉邦西部一个城市贫民窟的一所政府学校的女生中开展。共有250名女生参与。通过一份经过预测试的问卷收集数据。将收集到的数据录入Microsoft Excel，并使用SPSS 20软件进行分析。研究结束后，对所有女生进行了经期卫生教育。
学生的平均年龄为14.9±1.75岁。初潮的平均年龄为11.97岁（95%置信区间：11.94 - 11.99）。据观察，只有一半（56.4%）的人此前了解过初潮相关知识。在这些人中，很大一部分是由母亲（60.7%）告知的，其次是朋友（31.8%）。母亲的教育程度与受访者对月经的认知之间没有显著关联。关于经血流出的器官，一半（50.7%）的人知道正确答案（即子宫）；而其余的人认为是胃/肾等。大多数女学生（90.5%）使用卫生巾。近90%的年轻女性在经期面临身体不适或健康问题。大多数参与者在经期受到某种限制，其中大部分是宗教限制（69.7%），其次是身体限制（41.2%）和社会限制（22.3%）。她们所有人对学校内的厕所和洗手设施都不满意。
青春期少女缺乏关于月经的正确知识。缺乏认知是采用安全卫生的经期做法的障碍。这也阻碍她们克服关于月经的传统观念、误解和限制。这将有助于她们顺利步入成年。
