Prevalence of Knowledge, Attitude & Practice Regarding Menstrual Hygiene in High School Girls: A Cross-sectional Study from Belagavi, Karnataka, India

Introduction: Menstruation is a biological process exclusive to females. Itis associated with many misconceptions and practices, which sometimescause adverse health outcomes. Hence, all aspects of menstruationneed to be understood by adolescent girls. In general, an insufficientlevel of awareness, with widespread myths, misconceptions and taboosabout menstruation is harmful to human society.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2019to November 2019. This study was done among 600 adolescent highschool girls from 12 different high schools (6 rural and 6 urban) inBelagavi. A set of structured questionnaires was prepared to assesstheir knowledge, attitude and practices regarding menstrual hygiene.Result: The results showed there was no source of informationavailable for 43.33% (n = 260) of students regarding menstruationbefore menarche. The overall percentages for knowledge, attitude, andpractice about menstrual hygiene were 55.69%, 49.66%, and 47.52%respectively and out of the total, only 38.80% of respondents mentionedthat the urination site and menstruation site are different and 22.60%did not know the cause of menstruation. During menstruation, 63.83%of respondents used sanitary pads, whereas 18.50% of girls relied onold clothes as sanitary aid.Conclusion: Despite the government running various educationalprogrammes, high school girls still need health education regardingmenstruation, such as the absorbent material used, disposal of theabsorbent material, hygiene followed during the menstrual period etc. How to cite this article:Mahajan P, Sagare SS, Sanikop G, Sah A.Prevalence of Knowledge, Attitude & Practiceregarding Menstrual Hygiene in High SchoolGirls: A Cross-sectional Study from Belagavi City,Karnataka, India. Chettinad Health City Med J.2023;12(4):87-95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2278.2044.202377