Document Type : Original Article
Authors
- . Abhishek Singh
- . Vikas Gupta 1
- . Deepika Agrawal 2
- . Pooja Goyal 3
- . Mitasha Singh 3
- . Shveta Lukhmana 4
1 Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, India
2 Department of Community Medicine, Santosh Medical College, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
3 Department of Community Medicine, ESIC Medical College, Faridabad, Haryana, India
4 Department of Community Medicine, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Menstruation is a natural phenomenon among women who experience shedding
of blood for 1–7 days every month which usually starts between age 11 and 14 years and continues
until menopause at about 51 years of age. It is important to maintain menstrual hygiene, as poor
practices increase vulnerability to reproductive and urinary tract infections. The present study was
conducted with an aim to investigate the impact of focused group discussion (FGD) compared to
didactic lectures (DLs) on the menstrual hygiene knowledge and practices.
METHODS: The present cross‑sectional study was conducted among 649 school girls during January
to August 2019 using a convenience sampling technique. After collecting baseline information using
a pretested, predesigned, standardized questionnaire, the participants in the control and intervention
groups were exposed for the DLs and FGD, respectively, and 1 month after such intervention, the
same questionnaire was again self‑administered by participants. All tests were performed at a 5%
level of significance using SPSS (version 22.0).
RESULTS: The baseline characteristics of both the groups such as participants’ mean age, mean
age of menarche, mother’s literacy status, religion, type of family, and socioeconomic status were
comparable. There was a difference in the knowledge and practice mean score of participants in
the control group for pre‑ and postintervention, which was highly statistically significant (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals that menstrual hygiene is far from satisfactory among most of
the school girls. The DLs and FGD have improved the menstrual hygiene knowledge and practices
among school girls.
Keywords
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