KNOWLEDGE AND HINDRANCES TO HYGENIC MENSTRUAL PRACTICES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL GIRLS IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Good menstrual hygiene is a very paramount aspect of female personal hygiene but it is one of the least talked about issues facing adolescent girls in developing world, Nigeria inclusive. This study investigated the knowledge and hindrances to hygienic menstrual practices among secondary school girls in Kwara State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined the level of knowledge of hygienic menstrual practices as well as hindrances to practicing it. The study was a descriptive survey type with a study population of 450 secondary school student selected through a multi-staged sampling procedure. Questionnaire validated for face and content validity determined by experts in the field of health promotion and education was the instrument adopted for data collection. It was also subjected to a reliability test of the split half method which yielded the reliability coefficient of 0.74. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics of percentage and mean to answer the research questions while ANOVA and independent t-test were used to test hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. The findings revealed that: majority of the secondary school girls studied had low knowledge of menstrual hygiene. Also, the students encountered hindrances to hygienic menstrual practices such as not being able to move freely around the school during menstrual period; not being able to bath thrice daily to avoid menstruation odour and stains among others. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the knowledge of menstrual hygiene among Secondary school girls based on class levels (F _{{2, 447}} = 1.983, p>0.05); there was a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of menstrual hygiene among Secondary school girls based on location (t _{448} = 1.652, p>0.05); there was no significant difference in the hindrances to menstrual hygiene practices among the school girls based on class levels (F _{{2, 447}} = 1.809, p>0.05) and there was also no statistically significant difference in the hindrances to menstrual hygiene practices among secondary school girls based on location (t _{448} = 1.421, p>0.05). In view of these findings, it was concluded that secondary school girls in Kwara State lack adequate knowledge of menstrual hygiene which aided hindrances to hygienic practices during menstruation. It was recommended among others that sensitization programmes on menstrual hygiene be carried out among secondary girls by health educators, Government should provide WASH amenities for schools and Non-Governmental Organizations should work with Government to subsidize sanitary pads among others.