Menstrual Hygiene-An Unsolved Issue: A School-Based Study Among Adolescent Girls In A Slum Area Of Kolkata

Abstract

Background: Menstruation is still an issue which is not acknowledged in a healthy way in a country like India, more so in urban slums and remote villages. Improper menstrual hygiene resulting out of socio-economic constraints, taboos, misconceptions, faulty family practices will lead to morbidities like reproductive tract infections and its consequences. The study aimed to find out the existing level of knowledge, attitude and practice of menstrual hygiene and its determinants, prevalence of genitourinary tract related morbidities and its predictors among adolescent girl students of an urban slum. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study had been conducted among 200 girl students of class V-VIII in a Government secondary school situated in a slum area of Kolkata with the help of a predesigned pretested schedule. Results: Majority (48.7%) of the students obtained poor score in the assessment of K.A.P of menstrual hygiene with the mean of 11.03\textpm{}4.882. Only 41% were aware about menstruation before start of this event with mother being the primary informer. Majority (82.5%) used cloth piece as absorbent. Less than half of them (47.7%) used to clean the cloth piece with soap and water. Majority used to change pad or cloth piece (45%) only when it was excessively soaked, while 69% did not change their pad at all during school time. Majority (53%) were suffering from some kind of genito-urinary tract related morbidity. Multivariate analyses revealed Muslim students, belonging to joint family, with lower per capita income and low parental educational level had higher odds of having poor K.A.P of menstrual hygiene. Another multivariate logistic model showed students belonging to Muslim religion, joint family, with low per capita income, low maternal education, who used to go for open field defecation or micturition, use road side tap or tube-well for taking bath and obtained bad menstrual hygiene score had higher odds of having genito-urinary tract related morbidities. Conclusion: Continuous behavior change communication in friendly atmosphere is needed to address this delicate issue, so that the adolescents are able to prepare themselves to cope up with this inevitable physiological event and nurture a correct practice that in turn leads to their healthy living.