Description:
Background; Menstruation is regarded as a shameful period associated with physical, social and
psychological effects to adolescent girls. This is due to lack of knowledge, social and cultural
norms and poor menstrual hygiene management options and practices.
Objectives: This study aims to assess knowledge, support and document current menstrual
hygiene practices among adolescent secondary school girls.
Methodology: A prospective cross sectional study involved adolescent girls at ages between 13-
19 years studying at Kelamfua and Horombo secondary schools in Rombo district. The schools
were conveniently sampled due to its location and diversity of students attending those schools
socially, culturally and financially. The 366 participants were randomly sampled from different
classes of the two schools and data was collected through questionnaires followed by descriptive
data analysis using through SPSS.
Results: The level of knowledge among adolescents was as follows; 59.6% knew that menstrual
cycle begins on the first day of bleeding, 49.7% knew that menstrual cycle ends between
menstrual cycle, 67.2% knew that wetness meant preparation for menstruation and 45.9% knew
that it is normal for menstrual cycle to change. On the other hand, 83.9% majority adolescents
obtained their information from their mothers and 98.7% used commercial pads while 65.8%
changed them 3 times per day.
Conclusion: Menstruation is still a sensitive topic among adolescents and their caretakers due to
cultural boundaries. This has led to poor knowledge about menstruation and thus poor menstrual
hygiene practices among adolescents.