Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
PLoS One. 2022 Jun 30;17(6):e0270848. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270848. eCollection 2022.
Menstruation is a biological process which is crucial for human reproduction. Menstruation is a source of absenteeism, yet the subject matter has not been well explored. This study aimed to assess the correlates of absenteeism at school, work and social activities during menstruation among Ghanaian women of reproductive age.
This study was an analysis of secondary data from the 2017/18 Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Binomial Logistic Regression with the aid of Stata/SE, version 16.
The majority of the participants were aged 25-49 years (63%), married/in union (55%) and resided in urban areas (52%). Nine in ten participants had access to privacy at home and 98% used menstrual materials during their last period. Eight in ten participants used disposable menstrual materials. Exactly 19% of the participants missed school, work or social activities during their last period. Participants who used disposable menstrual materials (AOR = 0.67; 95% CI: 0.52-0.85) were less likely to miss school, work or social activities during menstruation compared to those who used reusable menstrual materials.
This study demonstrated that a significant minority of women in Ghana miss academic, economic or social activities during menstruation. Therefore, there is a need for effective interventions to help reduce menstruation-related absenteeism among women and girls in Ghana.
月经是人类生殖过程中至关重要的生物过程。月经是导致缺勤的一个原因，但这个问题并没有得到很好的研究。本研究旨在评估加纳育龄妇女在月经期间缺课、旷工和社会活动的相关因素。
本研究是对 2017/18 年加纳多指标类集调查的二次数据分析。使用描述性统计、卡方检验和二项逻辑回归进行分析，统计软件为 Stata/SE 版本 16。
大多数参与者年龄在 25-49 岁（63%），已婚/处于婚姻关系中（55%），居住在城市地区（52%）。十分之九的参与者在家里有隐私，98%的参与者在最近一次经期使用了卫生巾。十分之八的参与者使用一次性卫生巾。最近一次经期，有 19%的参与者缺课、旷工或不参加社会活动。与使用可重复使用的卫生巾的参与者相比，使用一次性卫生巾的参与者（AOR=0.67；95%CI：0.52-0.85）更不容易在经期缺课、旷工或不参加社会活动。
本研究表明，加纳有相当一部分妇女在月经期间缺课、旷工或不参加社会活动。因此，需要采取有效的干预措施，以帮助减少加纳妇女和女孩因月经而导致的缺勤。
