School of Nursing and Midwifery, Aga Khan University, Karachi 75950, Pakistan.
Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jul 21;20(14):6424. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20146424.
Menstrual hygiene is a critical issue encountered by women and girls of reproductive age that negatively affects their health and empowerment. It is still deemed a taboo subject in several parts of the world, and girls hesitate to discuss menstruation with their family members, friends, or schoolteachers, which creates hurdles when they experience their menarche. Girls residing in rural areas encounter more problems, since they lack proper resources and knowledge to manage their menstruation in school as well as at home. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the menstrual hygiene of girls residing in rural areas of Gilgit, Pakistan.
A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to assess the study questions. The consecutive sampling technique was applied to recruit 300 female participants from remote areas of Gilgit, Pakistan, who were 13 to 22 years old. A pre-tested questionnaire was utilized to collect the data, and SPSS version 21.0 was used to analyze them.
The study found that more than half of the participants had a poor level of knowledge and practices and negative attitudes towards menstrual hygiene. This could be due to many cultural and social factors associated with menstrual hygiene.
The study concluded that the study participants were not knowledgeable about menstrual hygiene. They had poor practices and attitudes regarding menstrual hygiene. Hence, it is recommended that frequent sessions should be conducted by healthcare workers to enhance the knowledge of parents, teachers, and young girls, to increase their positive attitudes and practices regarding menstrual hygiene.
月经卫生是生育期妇女和女孩面临的一个关键问题，它会对她们的健康和赋权产生负面影响。在世界上的一些地方，月经仍然被视为禁忌话题，女孩们羞于与家人、朋友或老师讨论月经，这给她们初潮时带来了障碍。农村地区的女孩遇到的问题更多，因为她们缺乏在学校和家中管理月经的适当资源和知识。本研究旨在评估巴基斯坦吉尔吉特农村地区女孩的月经卫生知识、态度和实践情况。
采用描述性横断面设计评估研究问题。采用连续抽样技术从巴基斯坦吉尔吉特偏远地区招募了 300 名年龄在 13 至 22 岁的女性参与者。使用预先测试的问卷收集数据，并使用 SPSS 版本 21.0 进行分析。
研究发现，超过一半的参与者对月经卫生的知识和实践水平较差，对月经卫生的态度消极。这可能是由于与月经卫生相关的许多文化和社会因素所致。
研究得出结论，研究参与者对月经卫生知识了解不足。他们在月经卫生方面的实践和态度较差。因此，建议卫生工作者应经常举办会议，以提高家长、教师和年轻女孩对月经卫生的知识，增强他们对月经卫生的积极态度和实践。
