A Descriptive Study to Assess the Menstrual Hygiene Awareness Among Adolescent Girls in Urban Areas at Selected High School, Salem

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescence is a transitional phase of growth and development between childhood and adulthood. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines an adolescent as any person between ages 10 and 19. Adolescence is the developmental transition to adulthood that includes rapid changes in the brain and body, often at different rates and is a time for healthy exploration of identity and learning independence. It can also be a stressful or challenging for teens because of these rapid changes. Adolescence is the developmental transition to adulthood that includes rapid changes in the brain and body, often at different rates and is a time for healthy exploration of identity and learning independence. It can also be a stressful or challenging for teens because of these rapid changes. Adolescence is a critical period characterized by significant physical, emotional, cognitive, and social changes, including the monthly occurrence of menstruation of adolescent girls. Despite being an inevitable natural event, most societies consider menstruation and menstrual blood as restrictions and impure. Such consideration prevents many adolescent girls from proper managing the experience Objectives:1. To assess the awareness of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls. 2. To associate the awareness scores with demographic variables of adolescents’ girls. Methods: 1. This study was institutionally based descriptive research conducted at a selected High school, Salem involving 80 adolescent girls who were randomly chosen through a stratified sampling method. The data collected encompassed various factors, including socio-economic status, age in years, religion, family structure, maternal education, maternal occupation, family income, age of menarche, field of study, dietary patterns, and sources of information pertaining to the significance of menstrual hygiene awareness and management. Information regarding these variables and menstrual characteristics was gathered using pre-tested questionnaires. Results: The mean awareness score of the adolescent girls in the study population is 16.31(81.55%) with the standard deviation of 1.446. Association between awareness scores of adolescent girls regarding menstrual hygiene with their selected personal variables reveals that personal variables such as age in years, religion, type of family, education of mother, occupation of the mother, family income, age of menarche, course of studying, type of the family, type of food pattern and source of information with were not having significant association the awareness scores regarding menstrual hygiene. Conclusion: The findings of the study indicate that a significant number of adolescent girls possess a good understanding of menstrual hygiene. However, these girls often feel uncomfortable discussing sensitive issues such as menstrual hygiene. In general discussions, it was noted that many do not consistently practice proper hygiene during their menstrual periods. Furthermore, a considerable number of girls continue to face various restrictions during menstruation. Therefore, it is crucial to foster an environment that encourages open and honest conversations about personal experiences related to this sensitive topic. There is a pressing need to enhance awareness and promote hygienic practices among adolescent girls during their menstrual cycles.