Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar.
Trop Med Int Health. 2022 Nov;27(11):970-980. doi: 10.1111/tmi.13817. Epub 2022 Sep 23.
The study assessed menstrual hygiene management (MHM) inequalities among public and private in-school adolescents in Badagry, southwest Nigeria. Also assessed was the impact of available water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities on MHM within the school premises.
For this descriptive cross-sectional study, 420 students were selected via multi-stage sampling and data were obtained via a validated semi-structured questionnaire and observational checklist. Data were analysed at 95% confidence limit.
The students had a mean age of 15.3 ± 1.6 years. All the private schools had functioning WASH facilities whereas only 50% of public schools did. The toilet to student ratios for the private and public schools were 1:155 and 1:296, respectively. Over two-thirds (67.1%) of the students reportedly use sanitary napkins for MHM, followed by tissue (17.1%) and clothes (15.5%). Additionally, the private school students were two times less likely to use alternatives to sanitary napkins and 9.8 times more likely to obtain sanitary materials at school if required (p < 0.001). A significantly higher proportion of public-school menstruating in-school adolescents changed their sanitary towels in the bush (p = 0.003) due to lack of privacy and took their used sanitary materials home (p < 0.001) for management due to reduced access to sanitary bins.
Even though the situation in the public schools was worse, both public and private schools lack the enabling environment for MHM. School health promotion interventions, such as provision of subsidised/affordable menstrual pads and basic WASH facilities and campaigns to break the culture of silence are required for the wellbeing of girls.
本研究评估了尼日利亚西南部巴达格里公立和私立中学在校青少年的经期卫生管理（MHM）不平等现象。还评估了校内可用的水、环境卫生和个人卫生（WASH）设施对 MHM 的影响。
在这项描述性的横断面研究中，通过多阶段抽样选择了 420 名学生，并通过经过验证的半结构式问卷和观察清单获得数据。数据在 95%置信限内进行分析。
学生的平均年龄为 15.3±1.6 岁。所有私立学校都有功能齐全的 WASH 设施，而只有 50%的公立学校有。私立和公立学校的厕所与学生比例分别为 1:155 和 1:296。超过三分之二（67.1%）的学生报告说使用卫生巾进行 MHM，其次是纸巾（17.1%）和衣服（15.5%）。此外，如果需要，私立学校的学生使用卫生巾替代品的可能性低两倍，而获得卫生用品的可能性高 9.8 倍（p<0.001）。由于缺乏隐私，更多的公立学校经期在校青少年更有可能在灌木丛中更换卫生巾（p=0.003），并将使用过的卫生巾带回家（p<0.001）进行处理，因为她们减少了对卫生垃圾桶的使用。
尽管公立学校的情况更糟，但公立和私立学校都缺乏有利于 MHM 的环境。需要开展学校健康促进干预措施，如提供补贴/负担得起的卫生巾和基本的 WASH 设施，并开展打破沉默文化的运动，以确保女孩的福祉。
