Relationship between Female University Students’ Knowledge on Menstruation and Their Menstrual Hygiene Practices: A Study in Tamale, Ghana

Ameade, Evans Paul Kwame; Garti, Helene Akpene

doi:10.1155/2016/1056235

Cited by 46 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Regarding the knowledge of our participants, 56.6% of participants had above 50% of the score (good knowledge) concerning puberty, age at menarche, and menstrual cycle. This finding is similar to that obtained in a Ghanaian study in 2016, which reported an average knowledge of 57% on menarche and the menstrual cycle [ 23 ]. The proportion of participants with good knowledge is unsurprisingly higher in this study, given that the target population was university students.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Knowledge of peri-menarcheal changes and a comparative analysis of the age at menarche among young adolescent school girls in urban and rural Cameroon

Ajong

Tankala²,

Yakum

et al. 2020

BMC Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Menarche is an expected event that occurs during the development of every normal young girl. We designed this study to evaluate the knowledge of young school girls on puberty, menarche, and menstruation, and to update data on the age at menarche in a rural and urban setting in Cameroon. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey from February to March 2017, targeting female students aged 9 to 16 years in Yaoundé (urban) and Bamougoum (rural). Participants were included using a randomised cluster sampling and data collected using an auto-administrable questionnaire. Student t-test or the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare means, and the odds ratio used as the measure of association between age at menarche and selected covariates. Results 1157 participants were included in the study; 49.3% from an urban setting and 50.7% from a rural setting. Regarding the knowledge of our participants on puberty, menarche, and menstruation, 67.20% of rural participants had good knowledge, whereas only 46.00% had good knowledge in the urban setting. Mean age at menarche was 12.76 ± 1.33 years, with the mean age at menarche in the urban setting of 12.48 ± 1.12 years and the rural setting of 13.03 ± 1.46 years. Mean age at menarche was significantly lower in participants aged below 14 years (p-value = 0.000), those with both parents alive (p-value = 0.0461), those whose fathers had skilled occupations (p-value = 0.005), those of urban resident (p-value = 0.000), and those who watched TV everyday (p-value = 0.030). Urban residence and age below 14 years were significantly associated with an earlier onset of menarche. Conclusion Rural participants had better knowledge of puberty, menarche, and the menstrual cycle than their counterparts in the urban setting. The mean age at menarche over the last two decades has dropped by 7.4 and 4.2 months per decade in urban and rural Cameroon respectively. Mean age at menarche varies significantly with age group, urban/rural residence, state of both parents (both alive/at least one dead), occupation of the father, and frequency of watching TV. Age and urban/rural residence are associated with age at onset of menarche. The continually declining age at menarche is an alarm for future early menarche-linked morbidities.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Knowledge of peri-menarcheal changes and a comparative analysis of the age at menarche among young adolescent school girls in urban and rural Cameroon

Ajong

Tankala²,

Yakum

et al. 2020

BMC Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In this study, about two-thirds of school-going adolescent girls practiced good menstrual hygiene which is in line with studies done in Nepal [22] and Ethiopia [23]. However, several studies done in Ethiopia [24], Nigeria [25], and Ghana [26] found that higher proportion of the girls practiced good menstrual hygiene as compared to this study. In contrast to this study, small portion of good menstrual hygiene practice was also observed in several studies such as studies done in Nepal [12], Ethiopia [6,19], and Nigeria [27].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Practice of Menstrual Hygiene and Associated Factors among Adolescent School Girls in Dang District, Nepal

Bhusal

2020

Advances in Preventive Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background. Menstrual hygiene management has not been sufficiently addressed in developing countries. In many Nepalese societies, menstrual practices are still surrounded by sociocultural restrictions and taboos resulting in adverse health outcomes for adolescent girls. The purpose of this study was to determine menstrual hygiene practice and sociodemographic as well as socioeconomic factors associated with good menstrual hygiene practice amongst adolescent school girls in Dang district, Nepal. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Dang district, Nepal, among 406 adolescent girls studying in grades 8, 9, and 10 between ages of 10 and 19 years from April to October 2019. Randomly 5 units were selected from a total of 10 local units. After 5 units had been decided, 10 schools consisting of 5 government and 5 private schools were selected through a disproportionate stratified random sampling technique. A further 406 students were then selected randomly from the 10 selected schools. Bivariate analysis was used primarily to assess the association between dependent and independent variables and final measure of association was odds ratio. Variables which were associated with bivariate analysis were entered into a multivariable logistic regression model to identify associated factors of menstrual hygiene practice. Results. The mean age and family size were 15.13 ± 1.19 and 5.58 ± 1.81, respectively. A total of 272 (67.0%) adolescents have good menstrual hygiene practice. Mothers and fathers with literature educational background (adjusted odds ratio = 0.52, confidence interval: 0.30–0.89 and AOR = 2.55, CI: 1.26–5.15, respectively), family size greater than or equal to 5 (AOR = 0.61, CI: 0.37–0.98), and living with relatives (AOR = 0.45, CI: 0.24–0.85) were significantly associated with good menstrual hygiene practice. Conclusions. Educational status of mother and father, family size, and living status were found to be independent associated factors of menstrual hygiene practice. In this context, this study demonstrates that administrators and policy makers should provide specific education regarding menstrual hygiene to both parents. Similarly local government needs to subsidize hygiene towels for school adolescents.

show abstract

“…A sample size of 250 was estimated using Cochran’s correction formula for finite population [ 25 ] based on 57% prevalence of menstrual knowledge from a previous study in Ghana [ 26 ], 95% confidence interval, 5% level of precision, 30% non-response rate, and a population of 387 adolescent school girls in the five Junior High Schools. Upon approval from the District Education Director and permission from the school heads, the computed sample size of 250 was proportionally allocated to each of the five schools.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Menstrual knowledge, sociocultural restrictions, and barriers to menstrual hygiene management in Ghana: Evidence from a multi-method survey among adolescent schoolgirls and schoolboys

Mohammed

Larsen-Reindorf

2020

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

On a daily basis, schoolgirls in low and middle-income countries discover blood on their clothing for the first time in school environments without toilets, water, or a supportive teacher, mentor, or role model to help them understand the changes happening in their bodies. This study aimed to examine the menstrual knowledge, sociocultural restrictions, and barriers to menstrual hygiene management in school environment among adolescent schoolgirls in a rural community. We collected quantitative data from 250 adolescent schoolgirls and qualitative data from thirty schoolboys and five schoolteachers in five Junior High Schools in the Kumbungu district of northern Ghana. Binary logistic regression models were fitted to determine the predictors of poor menstrual knowledge. Qualitative data were transcribed verbatim, coded, and organized into themes. Overall, 53.6% of the girls had poor knowledge about menstruation. Most of the boys had heard about menstruation and had an idea about what menstruation is with most of them describing it as "the flow of blood through the vagina of a female." The boys revealed that terms such as "Vodafone," "Red card," and "Palm oil" are used to describe menstruation in the schools and within the community. After adjusting for the effect of other sociodemographic factors, we found evidence that girls in their late adolescents were less likely to have poor menstrual knowledge compared to those aged 10-14 years (aOR 0.20, 95%CI 0.08-0.48). Maternal education was protective against poor menstrual knowledge. When compared to adolescents whose mothers were illiterates, those whose mothers had basic education (aOR 0.62, 95%CI 0.28-1.40) and those whose mothers had secondary or higher education (AOR 0.22, 95%CI 0.06-0.76) were less likely to have poor knowledge about menstruation. Adolescents from homes with no television and radio sets were more likely to have poor menstrual knowledge compared to those from homes with television and radio sets (aOR 2.42, 95%CI 1.41-4.15). Comfort, safety, and cost were the major factors that influenced their choice of sanitary products. Most of the teachers said the schools do not provide students with sanitary products, even

show abstract

Relationship between Female University Students’ Knowledge on Menstruation and Their Menstrual Hygiene Practices: A Study in Tamale, Ghana

Cited by 46 publications

References 17 publications

Knowledge of peri-menarcheal changes and a comparative analysis of the age at menarche among young adolescent school girls in urban and rural Cameroon

Knowledge of peri-menarcheal changes and a comparative analysis of the age at menarche among young adolescent school girls in urban and rural Cameroon

Practice of Menstrual Hygiene and Associated Factors among Adolescent School Girls in Dang District, Nepal

Menstrual knowledge, sociocultural restrictions, and barriers to menstrual hygiene management in Ghana: Evidence from a multi-method survey among adolescent schoolgirls and schoolboys

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About