Schmitt Margaret L, Gruer Caitlin, Hagstrom Christine, Ekua Adenu-Mensah Nana, Nowara Azure, Keeley Katie, Sommer Marni
Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York City, NY, United States.
Office of Clinical and Community Trials, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
Front Reprod Health. 2022 Oct 21;4:1018217. doi: 10.3389/frph.2022.1018217. eCollection 2022.
Adolescent girls in the U.S.A. often lack sufficient education on pubertal and menstrual health topics. This educational gap may be growing given the current decline in American elementary and middle schools' delivery of sexual health education. Furthermore, little is known about the actual scope and quality of existing menstruation and puberty education in U.S.A. schools. This paper provides insights into some of the challenges with the delivery of menstruation and puberty education in schools. Qualitative and participatory research methodologies were utilized with Black and Latina girls ages 15-19 and adults working with youth in three U.S.A. cities (Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City), exploring experiences of menstruation within school and family contexts. Findings revealed tension between school responsibility and family authority in providing menstruation and puberty education in schools, school- and teacher-related delivery challenges, and inadequate and disengaging menstruation and puberty content. Further research is needed on the effectiveness and best practices for providing this education in schools, including improved understanding on student and parent preferences, delivery mediums and the scope of content.
美国的少女往往缺乏关于青春期和月经健康主题的充分教育。鉴于目前美国中小学性健康教育的减少，这一教育差距可能正在扩大。此外，对于美国学校现有月经和青春期教育的实际范围和质量知之甚少。本文深入探讨了学校开展月经和青春期教育所面临的一些挑战。对年龄在15 - 19岁的黑人及拉丁裔女孩以及在美国三个城市（芝加哥、洛杉矶和纽约市）与青少年一起工作的成年人采用了定性和参与式研究方法，探索她们在学校和家庭环境中的月经经历。研究结果揭示了在学校提供月经和青春期教育时学校责任与家庭权威之间的紧张关系、与学校和教师相关的教育实施挑战，以及月经和青春期教育内容不足且缺乏吸引力的问题。需要进一步研究在学校提供此类教育的有效性和最佳实践，包括更好地了解学生和家长的偏好、教育传播媒介以及教育内容的范围。
