Paul Kalyan Kumar, Chaudhuri Susmita, Maiti Anindita
Assistant Professor, Community Medicine, ESI-PGIMSR & ESIC Medical College, Joka, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2020 Sep 30;9(9):4699-4704. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_718_20. eCollection 2020 Sep.
Menstruation is a normal physiological process and a key sign of reproductive health in women in the reproductive age group. Poor menstrual hygiene affects the educational activities as well as the day to day activities of women. The objective of this study is to assess the practices of menstrual hygiene among women aged 15-49 years attending a tertiary care hospital in Kolkata and to assess their knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene.
This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted among the women belonging to the age group of 15-49 years attending the outpatient department of Gynaecology. Predesigned, pretested, semi-structured questionnaire was used as a study tool. Interview method was used for data collection after obtaining informed consent from the participants. Data were analysed by SPSS 20v software. Association between variables was checked by Chi-square test & < 0.05 was considered as significant.
Mean age of respondents was 28.03 ± 7.01 years. The cause of menstruation as a normal body function constituted maximum response (43.5%) whereas the reason was unknown to many (37%). Regarding restrictions during menstruation, it was mentioned that avoiding worshipping was the commonest restriction (90.2%), followed by restriction in diet (32.6%). Use of readymade absorbents was found in most of the subjects (91%) followed by homemade reusable (6.5%) and homemade disposable (2.2%). Around 77.2% of them packed the napkins and disposed in garbage. Those who were aware about menstrual hygiene were found to be practicing satisfactory perineal cleaning ( < 0.05).
Health education and awareness programme focusing on menstrual hygiene must be intensified. School curriculum can play a vital role in implementing health education.
月经是一种正常的生理过程，也是育龄期女性生殖健康的关键标志。月经卫生状况不佳会影响女性的教育活动以及日常活动。本研究的目的是评估在加尔各答一家三级医院就诊的15 - 49岁女性的月经卫生习惯，并评估她们对月经卫生的知识了解情况。
这是一项基于医院的横断面研究，对象为在妇科门诊就诊的15 - 49岁女性。使用预先设计、预先测试的半结构化问卷作为研究工具。在获得参与者的知情同意后，采用访谈法收集数据。数据通过SPSS 20v软件进行分析。变量之间的关联通过卡方检验进行检查，P < 0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
受访者的平均年龄为28.03 ± 7.01岁。将月经视为正常身体功能的原因的回答占比最高（43.5%），而许多人表示原因不明（37%）。关于月经期间的限制，提到避免崇拜是最常见的限制（90.2%），其次是饮食限制（32.6%）。大多数受试者（91%）使用现成的吸收剂，其次是自制可重复使用的（6.5%）和自制一次性的（2.2%）。约77.2%的人将卫生巾打包后丢弃在垃圾中。发现了解月经卫生的人会阴清洁情况良好（P < 0.05）。
必须加强针对月经卫生的健康教育和宣传项目。学校课程在实施健康教育方面可以发挥至关重要的作用。
