Period poverty and genital hygiene behaviors of refugee adolescents in Türkiye: a high school example

This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and practices of a group of refugee adolescent girls in Türkiye regarding menstrual hygiene management, the extent of period poverty, and genital hygiene behaviors. A cross-sectional design was employed. The study was conducted with 330 students in a multi-program high school. Data were collected using a Demographic Characteristics Form, a Menstrual Cycle Characteristics Form, a Period Poverty Characteristics Form, and the Genital Hygiene Behavior Scale. It was found that 23 percent of refugee adolescents experienced financial difficulties in purchasing menstrual hygiene products, 41.2 percent had to use alternative hygiene products due to economic reasons, and 44.2 percent were worried that their menstrual hygiene products would run out. Among the adolescents, 43.0 percent reported insufficient knowledge about the menstrual process, 61.8 percent stated that they had not received adequate education on menstruation and hygiene at school, and 73.9 percent reported inadequate opportunities for menstrual hygiene management in their schools. Adolescents who reported not having received information about the menstrual process had lower total scores on the Genital Hygiene Behavior Scale. According to the findings, a significant portion of adolescents faced difficulties accessing basic sanitation services, menstrual hygiene education, and safe and hygienic menstrual products during menstruation. Menstrual health should be addressed as a fundamental issue within the context of global and reproductive health. In the short term, awareness-raising initiatives should be implemented to prevent period poverty, and women and girls should be educated. In the long term, comprehensive social policies should be developed.