Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Menstrual Hygiene among Girls in Ghizer, Gilgit, Pakistan

Abstract

Introduction: Menstrual hygiene is a critical issue encountered by women and girls of reproductive age that negatively affects their health and empowerment. It is still deemed a taboo subject in several parts of the world, and girls hesitate to discuss menstruation with their family members, friends, or schoolteachers, which creates hurdles when they experience their menarche. Girls residing in rural areas encounter more problems, since they lack proper resources and knowledge to manage their menstruation in school as well as at home. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the menstrual hygiene of girls residing in rural areas of Gilgit, Pakistan. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to assess the study questions. The consecutive sampling technique was applied to recruit 300 female participants from remote areas of Gilgit, Pakistan, who were 13 to 22 years old. A pre-tested questionnaire was utilized to collect the data, and SPSS version 21.0 was used to analyze them. Results: The study found that more than half of the participants had a poor level of knowledge and practices and negative attitudes towards menstrual hygiene. This could be due to many cultural and social factors associated with menstrual hygiene. Conclusions: The study concluded that the study participants were not knowledgeable about menstrual hygiene. They had poor practices and attitudes regarding menstrual hygiene. Hence, it is recommended that frequent sessions should be conducted by healthcare workers to enhance the knowledge of parents, teachers, and young girls, to increase their positive attitudes and practices regarding menstrual hygiene.

Impact of Perceived Injustice on the Severity of Menstrual Pain among High School Students: A Cross Sectional Study in Karachi

“…Other factors, not specifically measured by the IEQ, seem to have a stronger influence on the intensity of menstrual pain. 17 Figure 1 shows that 73.7% (n=426) of high school females felt angry or upset about menstruation. Anger influences the association between perceived injustice and pain severity.…”

Menstrual hygiene management in two districts of Malawi

“…Financial barriers are not only due to the affordability of products, access to financial resources is also a barrier to appropriate MHM with men often not providing access to money to purchase menstrual hygiene products (McMahon et al, 2011;Shah et al, 2023). This was echoed by participants who emphasised that there is a taboo of asking male household members for money to buy menstrual hygiene products.…”

“…However, despite its importance, MHM information in Malawi is limited with no specific information on MHM reported in Census, MIS, and DHS surveys (NMCP and ICF, 2018, NSO 2018, NSO and Macro International, 2016. Studies where MHM has been investigated in Malawi often focus on MHM in schools (Grant et al, 2013;Mchenga et al, 2020;Pillitteri, 2011.;Shah et al, 2023). Whilst MHM within school settings in an important area, it is also vital to also evaluate MHM in the wider community (Kambala et al, 2020).…”