Singh S K, Singh Bharti
National Family Health Survey, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, India.
Research and Data Analytics, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, India.
Front Reprod Health. 2025 Jul 30;7:1532178. doi: 10.3389/frph.2025.1532178. eCollection 2025.
Lack of menstrual hygiene practices (MHP) is one of the primary causes of reproductive morbidities among young women. The recent National Family Health Survey (NFHS) showed a significant increase in the use of hygienic menstrual methods in India. This paper aims to investigate the spatial and temporal changes in the prevalence of hygienic menstrual practices from 2016 to 2021, considering micro and macro perspectives.
The study is based on women aged 15-24. The Datasets used in this study are from two recent rounds of the National Family Health Survey, NFHS-4 and NFHS-5. Descriptive, bivariate, multilevel, spatial, and Fairlie decomposition methods have been used to analyze spatial and temporal changes in MHP.
The study illustrates that the prevalence of MHP has increased by 20% points over the past five years, with a significant rise in the use of sanitary napkins, even among marginalized groups. Spatial variation and temporal changes reveal the influence of geospatial attributes, awareness, education, sanitation, and economic prosperity on MHP. Multilevel analysis portrays the maximum clustering in the MHP at the household level in both survey years. Further, Fairlie decomposition reveals that media exposure, followed by the educational attainment of women, contributes highest to the increase in MHP from NFHS-4 to NFHS-5.
The findings of the study present a significant amount of influence of geospatial attributes, including culture and tradition. The extent of "awareness" regarding menstrual hygiene emerged as the most critical driver of escalating MHP in the country. Therefore, addressing socio-economic disparities and implementing interventions through community-level programs, preferably by adopting peer-based approaches with the active participation of self-help groups and frontline workers, is necessary to ensure universal access to sanitary methods.
缺乏经期卫生习惯是年轻女性生殖疾病的主要原因之一。最近的全国家庭健康调查（NFHS）显示，印度使用卫生经期用品的情况显著增加。本文旨在从微观和宏观角度研究2016年至2021年卫生经期习惯流行率的时空变化。
该研究基于15至24岁的女性。本研究使用的数据集来自最近两轮全国家庭健康调查，即NFHS-4和NFHS-5。已使用描述性、双变量、多层次、空间和费尔利分解方法来分析经期卫生习惯的时空变化。
研究表明，在过去五年中，经期卫生习惯的流行率提高了20个百分点，即使在边缘化群体中，卫生巾的使用也显著增加。空间差异和时间变化揭示了地理空间属性、意识、教育、卫生设施和经济繁荣对经期卫生习惯的影响。多层次分析描绘了在两个调查年份中，家庭层面经期卫生习惯的最大聚集情况。此外，费尔利分解表明，媒体曝光，其次是女性的教育程度，对从NFHS-4到NFHS-5经期卫生习惯的增加贡献最大。
该研究结果表明地理空间属性，包括文化和传统，具有重大影响。在该国，对经期卫生的“意识”程度已成为经期卫生习惯不断升级的最关键驱动因素。因此，解决社会经济差距并通过社区层面的项目实施干预措施，最好采用基于同伴的方法并让自助团体和一线工作人员积极参与，对于确保普遍获得卫生用品是必要的。
