A Study to Assess the Knowledge on Menstrual Hygiene among Adolescent Girls in Selected Schools, Mangalagiri, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh

Introduction: Adolescence is defined as life between 10 and 19 years of age. In females menstruation marks the beginning of adolescence. Menstruation is a physiological phenomenon which is unique to females in teenage. It is healthy, normal and mature process. Menstruation is still regarded as something unclean or dirty in Indian society. Most of the girls in India are at risk of getting genitourinary tract infections due to unhygienic practices during their menstruation and lack of adequate knowledge about menstrual hygiene. So, with view of this response, there is a need to assess the knowledge of adolescent girls with regard to menstrual hygiene which prevents the genitourinary tract infections. Materials and Method: A descriptive study was conducted to assess the knowledge on menstrual hygiene among the adolescent girls at Nirmala High School, Atmakur, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. A total of 100 adolescent girls between the age of 10-19 years were selected by using the convenient sampling technique. Structured knowledge questionnaire consisting of a 30 multiple choice questions was developed and utilized for the data collection. Data were organized and analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The findings of the study revealed that only 7% of the adolescent girls had adequate knowledge, 61% had moderate knowledge and 32% had inadequate knowledge. And also significant association was found between the knowledge of the adolescent girls with their demographic variables such as age, education, religion, age at menarche, previous knowledge about menstrual hygiene. Conclusion: Majority of the adolescent girls had inadequate knowledge on menstrual hygiene. Hence, there is a need for improving knowledge on menstrual hygiene among the adolescent girls.