Publication:

Menstrual hygiene: knowledge and practice among adolescent girls in orphanage

Background In India menstruation is generally considered as unclean. Orphanage girls are vulnerable group in our society. The unfailing support and a constant check of orphan girls during menstruation are usually absent. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge and practices regarding menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls residing in selected orphanages of Haryana.

Methods A descriptive survey was conducted on 150 adolescent girls residing in selected orphanages of Haryana. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the adolescent girls for study. The data was obtained by structured knowledge questionnaire and structured practice questionnaire.

Results SPSS version 20 was used for statistical analysis. The result of the study indicated that more than half of adolescent girls (62.7%) were in age group of 12-15 year. Half  (50.7%) of adolescent girls had age of menarche at 12 year. Only 16% adolescent girls had good knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene. 95.3% were using sanitary pad during menstruation.

Conclusions The present study concluded that adolescent girls had poor knowledge of menstruation and menstrual hygiene.