Effect of Health Education on Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Reproductive Health Among Pre-university Girls in an Urban Area.

BACKGROUND

For every woman, menstruation is a natural physiological process, and the adolescence period marks the beginning of the menstruation process. Investing the right knowledge in girls at a young age directs a better future for women, children, and families, thereby leading to intergenerational impact.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to evaluate the impact of health education on reproductive health among pre-university girls in an urban area.

METHODOLOGY

An interventional study was conducted among 500 girls studying in pre-university colleges (PUC). A pre-test was given to assess the baseline knowledge and attitude regarding reproductive health using a questionnaire followed by an interactive health education session. After one month, the impact of health education was assessed by administering the post-test questionnaire. The statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20 (Released 2011; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) was used for the analyses.

RESULTS

This study revealed that after the educational intervention, there was a significant improvement from the pre-test to the post-test. The median knowledge score increased by 6 points with a Z value of -16.93 and r = 0.53, and the median attitude score improved by 4 points with a Z value of -9.09 and r = 0.287. These results were found to be statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Educational interventions for the targeted group significantly improved the knowledge and attitude regarding reproductive health among PUC girls.