Awareness about reproductive health issues among the adolescent girls in a rural area of bangladesh

Abstract

Background: In Bangladesh there is a scarcity of data on the degree of knowledge among adolescents about reproductive health. Objective: To assess the awareness about reproductive health issues among adolescent girls in a rural area of Bangladesh. Materials and method: This descriptive type of cross sectional study was conducted among 148 adolescent girls who were selected purposively at Purba Chandara village of Kaliakair thana of Shafipur upazilla of Gazipur district in Bangladesh. A pre-tested semi structured questionnaire was used to collect data by face to face interview. Results: Most of the respondents (76.35%) were within the age group of 15-19 years. The average age of their menarche was 14 years. Majority of the respondents 136 (91.89%) had history of menstruation and 97 (65.54%) mentioned the duration of menstrual cycle > 7 days. Regarding the hygienic practice during menstruation, majority of them (68.24%) were unhygienic. About knowledge on age at marriage, 131 (88.51%) reportedly mentioned correct answer that marriage age is 18 years or more for girls. Regarding the knowledge on family planning and family planning methods, most of them (41.89%) had no knowledge. About the infection of reproductive tract, 87 (58.78%) had no knowledge and about half of the respondents (92; 56.79%) had no knowledge about symptoms of STDs. Conclusion: it is our responsibility to improve the condition of adolescent girls by giving clear and correct knowledge on reproductive health which will help them to maintain a good and sound reproductive health in future.