Knowledge and Practice of Menstrual Hygiene among Female Undergraduates at a Private Tertiary Institution in Nigeria

Abstract

Menstrual hygiene is keeping the body clean while a woman is menstruating. Many females have encountered considerable difficulty maintaining menstrual hygiene because of a lack of awareness or access to menstrual products, particularly in low-and middle-income nations. However, knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among female undergraduates, especially in Nigeria, are understudied. This descriptive cross-sectional study investigated the knowledge, practices and barriers associated with menstrual hygiene among female undergraduates of a private university in Nigeria. Three hundred and sixty-four participants were recruited using purposive sampling. Sociode-mographic data, knowledge, practice and barriers associated with menstrual hygiene were assessed using a self-report knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results revealed that most respondents (72.3%) had poor knowledge of menstrual hygiene, while around half (49.2%) maintained good practices. The most common barriers to practicing menstrual hygiene among the respondents were reported as fatigue and limited water access in their dormitories. Therefore, schools of higher learning need to ensure that students have regular access to clean water with adequate time between classes to allow for proper menstrual hygiene practice. Nurses could provide menstrual education for mothers and their adolescents before getting into university. Similarly, nurses working in institutions of higher learning should provide regular menstrual hygiene awareness programs on campus and advocate for access to clean water and hygiene facilities for female students undergoing menstruation.