Adane Yimenu, Ambelu Argaw, Azage Muluken, Mekonnen Yalemtsehay
Water and Health Division, Ethiopian Institute of Water Resources, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Front Reprod Health. 2024 Nov 20;6:1445862. doi: 10.3389/frph.2024.1445862. eCollection 2024.
The challenges of safe menstrual hygiene management practices in low-income settings, including the study areas are pressing. However, Studies specifically focusing on barriers that schoolgirls face in managing monthly menstruation in schools of Bahir Dar are inadequate and scarce.
To ensure the robustness of the findings, a comprehensive study was conducted among schoolgirls and boy students aged 12-20 in three schools. This study employed focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with students and leaders of the school gender club. A word cloud generator was used to visually represent frequently mentioned keywords, and the data generated from interviews were analyzed using the Open Code 4.03 tool.
The findings, derived from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, revealed several significant barriers that schoolgirls face in practicing safe menstrual hygiene management. These barriers, including sociocultural factors (133), inadequate use of menstrual hygiene management facilities (73), inadequate knowledge before menarche (59), and a general lack of support (35), underscore the multifaceted nature of the issues. Importantly, these findings emphasize the urgent need for targeted interventions to address these barriers and improve menstrual hygiene management among schoolgirls.
Schoolgirls in Bahir Dar encounter numerous challenges in maintaining safe menstrual hygiene practices. Addressing the identified modifiable barriers represents crucial areas for intervention, requiring collaborative efforts from school communities and other relevant stakeholders to create an environment conducive to promoting and enhancing safe menstrual hygiene practices.
在包括研究区域在内的低收入环境中，安全的经期卫生管理面临着紧迫的挑战。然而，专门针对巴希尔达尔地区学校女生在管理每月经期时所面临障碍的研究并不充分且稀少。
为确保研究结果的稳健性，在三所学校对12至20岁的女学生和男学生开展了一项全面研究。本研究采用了焦点小组讨论以及对学校性别俱乐部的学生和负责人进行深入访谈的方法。使用词云生成器直观呈现频繁提及的关键词，并运用Open Code 4.03工具对访谈所得数据进行分析。
从焦点小组讨论和深入访谈中得出的结果显示，女学生在实践安全的经期卫生管理时面临若干重大障碍。这些障碍包括社会文化因素（133）、经期卫生管理设施使用不足（73）、初潮前知识不足（59）以及普遍缺乏支持（35），凸显了这些问题的多面性。重要的是，这些结果强调迫切需要有针对性的干预措施来克服这些障碍并改善女学生的经期卫生管理。
巴希尔达尔地区的女学生在维持安全的经期卫生习惯方面面临诸多挑战。解决已确定的可改变障碍是关键的干预领域，需要学校社区和其他相关利益攸关方共同努力，营造有利于促进和加强安全经期卫生习惯的环境。
