Bagirisano Justine, Bazakare Marie Laetitia Ishimwe, Nkurunziza Aimable, Hitayezu Jean Bosco Henri, Uwera Yvonne Delphine Nsaba, Mukankusi Juliet Norah, Ntirushwa David, Godfrey Katende, Mukamana Donatilla, Habtu Michael
College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
School of Nursing, Nipissing University, North Bay, Canada.
BMC Public Health. 2025 May 13;25(1):1742. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22809-x.
Menstrual hygiene practices among visually impaired young girls are a significant public health concern in Rwanda. Limited knowledge about menstruation leads to inadequate hygiene practices, increasing the risk of cervical cancer, urinary tract infections, and reduced quality of life. The menstrual hygiene needs of visually impaired girls who depend on daily assistance for personal hygiene have not been adequately addressed in previous studies.
To assess the effect of an audio-recorded program on the knowledge and self-reported practices of menstruation hygiene among visually impaired young girls in Rwanda.
A pre-post mixed intervention study was conducted involving 93 visually impaired young girls from four specialized educational institutions. After obtaining consent and assent, baseline data were collected following an audio-recorded intervention. A pretested tool was used to measure participants' knowledge and practices about menstruation and menstrual hygiene. Post-interventional data was collected, and paired t-tests were used to analyze changes in knowledge and practice scores. Qualitatively, focus group discussions were used to evaluate the perceived effect of the audio-recorded program. Qualitative data were organized by Dodoose software and analyzed using thematic analysis.
The majority of participants (67.7%) were enrolled in secondary education level and lived in rural areas (76.3%), with the largest proportion (43%) being between the ages of 16 and 20 years. There was a significant increase in the knowledge of young visually impaired girls (p < 0.001) after the audio-recorded intervention program. There was a significant increase in the overall menstrual hygiene practice after the implementation of the audio-recorded program (p < 0.001). Qualitatively, four themes emerged from the study, including improved knowledge and abilities, boosted confidence, the convenience of audio, and the perceived need to increase audio effectiveness.
The study revealed a significant association between the audio-recorded interventions and improved menstrual hygiene knowledge and practices among visually impaired young girls. However, since the study utilized a pretest-posttest design, a randomized controlled trial is recommended for robust evidence.
在卢旺达，视障年轻女孩的经期卫生习惯是一个重大的公共卫生问题。对月经的了解有限导致卫生习惯不足，增加了患宫颈癌、尿路感染的风险，并降低了生活质量。以往的研究尚未充分关注那些在个人卫生方面依赖日常协助的视障女孩的经期卫生需求。
评估一个音频节目对卢旺达视障年轻女孩月经卫生知识和自我报告行为的影响。
开展了一项前后混合干预研究，涉及来自四所特殊教育机构的93名视障年轻女孩。在获得同意和赞成后，在音频干预后收集基线数据。使用经过预测试的工具来衡量参与者关于月经和经期卫生的知识及行为。收集干预后的数据，并使用配对t检验分析知识和行为得分的变化。在定性方面，采用焦点小组讨论来评估音频节目的感知效果。定性数据由Dodoose软件整理，并使用主题分析进行分析。
大多数参与者（67.7%）就读于中学教育水平，居住在农村地区（76.3%），最大比例（43%）年龄在16至20岁之间。音频干预项目实施后，视障年轻女孩的知识有显著增加（p<0.001）。音频节目实施后，整体经期卫生行为有显著增加（p<0.001）。在定性方面，研究出现了四个主题，包括知识和能力的提高、信心增强、音频的便利性以及提高音频效果的感知需求。
该研究揭示了音频干预与视障年轻女孩经期卫生知识和行为改善之间的显著关联。然而，由于该研究采用了前后测试设计，建议进行随机对照试验以获得有力证据。
