Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Menstrual Health and Hygiene among Adolescent Students in Laaniba Community, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

AbstractMenstrual health and hygiene (MHH) remains a persistent public health and gender equity concern in low- and middle-income settings, with implications for adolescent girls’ wellbeing and schooling. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, practices, and influencing factors of menstrual health and hygiene among adolescent female students in Laaniba Community Secondary School, Ibadan. A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed among SS1–SS3 students (N=120). Using the Taro Yamane formula with 10% attrition, a sample of 101 respondents was selected through simple random sampling. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire adapted from Duru et al. (2021) and analyzed using SPSS version 25 with descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-square at p<0.05. Respondents had a mean age of 15.3±1.7 years; menarche commonly occurred at 12–13 years, and most reported regular cycles (86.1%). Although many participants reported understanding the menstrual cycle (82.2%) and over half knew how to track menstruation (59.4%), awareness of menstrual health risks was low (33.7%) and most had not received menstrual health education (83.2%). Overall knowledge was predominantly poor (74.26%). Attitudes were moderately positive, with low reported embarrassment (11.9%) and minimal school absenteeism (10.9%); 51.49% demonstrated positive attitudes. Practices were generally favorable: 95.0% used sanitary pads and 86.1% reported consistent hand hygiene, with 62.4% categorized as having good practices; however, disposal methods were suboptimal (45.6% burning; 27.7% flushing). Chi-square analysis showed no significant association between academic class and knowledge (p=0.8992), but a significant association between academic department and good practice (p=0.001). The study underscores the need for comprehensive school-based menstrual education and improved disposal infrastructure. Keywords: Menstrual health, Menstrual hygiene, Adolescents, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice,