Informational and instrumental support related to menstruation: adolescents’ perspective

Abstract

Adolescent girls can experience puberty and menstruation in their school environment, especially when they decide to study in a boarding school for girls. The study aimed to describe the adolescent perception of informational and instrumental support related to menstruation. The descriptive study was conducted at a single institution-boarding school for girls in East Java, Indonesia. There were 236 students in junior high school were asked to fill out a questionnaire. Absenteeism due to menstruation was experienced by 35 students with 1-2 days of absence. In terms of informational support, more than 50% of students received information related to menstruation from their teachers. The school did not provide materials on menstrual hygiene on the toilet walls. In terms of instrumental support, most adolescents reported that clean water was available but soap for washing hands was not always available. Closed trash cans and access to a sanitary pad are available. According to most of the adolescents, the latrines in their school were easy to clean, but there were still around 10% who stated that the latrines were difficult to clean. Schools need to evaluate and improve support for students who are menstruating at school. Teachers' knowledge of reproductive health is a major concern.