Mamilla Sarada, Goundla Sandhya
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yashodha Hospital, Somajiguda, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2019 Feb;8(2):610-613. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_320_18.
Adolescents are future generation of our country. It is a vulnerable age making them susceptible to many health issues such as reproductive tract infections because of improper menstrual hygiene, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), unexpected pregnancies because of lack of awareness about contraceptive practices, and no proper guidance about sexual health. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge of college-going adolescent girls regarding menstrual hygiene and their awareness about HIV/AIDS, other STIs, and also their knowledge about contraception.
Girls studying diploma in government polytechnic college were assessed on the basis of a questionnaire survey. A predesigned questionnaire was prepared with reference from WHO adolescent health questionnaire and a health talk was organized in college. The questionnaire survey was done for 150 college girls. A health talk was given after girls filled the questionnaire. Only 125 girls gave filled questionnaire, whereas 25 returned without filling it. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and results were interpreted into percentages. Menstrual hygiene was given a score based on five parameters in the questionnaire. Correlation between mother's education and menstrual hygiene was assessed by Chi-square method. Similarly, correlation between mother's education and contraceptive knowledge was assessed by Chi-square test.
Forty percent did not answer the question from where they knew about puberty. Mother was the most common source of information about puberty (28%). There was a high level of knowledge about menstrual hygiene; 88% of study population knew about HIV, but only 30.4% knew about other STIs. Fifty percent of them did not know about contraceptive options, and of the study population who knew about contraception, condom (32%) was the most aware method. There was no correlation between mother's education and knowledge about contraception ( value 0.16) by Chi-square test. Similarly, there was no correlation between mother's education and menstrual hygiene score ( value 0.222).
Educated adolescents even though they belong to low socioeconomic class, irrespective of their mother's educational status, have a good knowledge about menstrual hygiene but lack knowledge about sexual health. School-based programs/Compulsory curriculum should be included by universities and colleges to encourage universal knowledge about contraception and sexual health.
青少年是国家的未来。这是一个易受伤害的年龄段，由于经期卫生不当、性传播感染（STIs）、人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）、缺乏避孕知识导致意外怀孕以及缺乏性健康方面的适当指导，他们容易受到许多健康问题的影响，如生殖道感染。本研究的目的是评估上大学的青春期女孩对经期卫生的了解、她们对艾滋病毒/艾滋病、其他性传播感染的认识以及她们对避孕的知识。
对在政府理工学院攻读文凭的女孩进行问卷调查评估。参考世界卫生组织青少年健康问卷编制了一份预先设计的问卷，并在学院组织了一次健康讲座。对150名大学女生进行了问卷调查。在女孩填写问卷后进行了一次健康讲座。只有125名女孩填写了问卷，而25名女孩未填写问卷就返回了。使用SPSS软件对数据进行分析，并将结果转化为百分比。在问卷中根据五个参数对经期卫生进行评分。通过卡方检验评估母亲的教育程度与经期卫生之间的相关性。同样，通过卡方检验评估母亲的教育程度与避孕知识之间的相关性。
40%的人没有回答她们从哪里了解到青春期的问题。母亲是关于青春期最常见的信息来源（28%）。对经期卫生有较高的了解程度；88%的研究人群了解艾滋病毒，但只有30.4%的人了解其他性传播感染。其中50%的人不知道避孕方法，在了解避孕的研究人群中，避孕套（32%）是最常被提及的方法。通过卡方检验，母亲的教育程度与避孕知识之间没有相关性（值为0.16）。同样，母亲的教育程度与经期卫生得分之间也没有相关性（值为0.222）。
受过教育的青少年，即使他们属于社会经济地位较低的阶层，无论其母亲的教育状况如何，对经期卫生有较好的了解，但缺乏性健康知识。大学和学院应纳入基于学校的项目/必修课程，以促进对避孕和性健康的普遍了解。
