WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Seema Dawas*, Raman Lal Gurjar and Manish Saraswat

ABSTRACT

Background: Menstrual hygiene is a crucial aspect of adolescent girls’ health and well-being. Inadequate knowledge and poor hygiene practices can lead to reproductive tract infections and other health complications. Health education plays a vital role in improving awareness and promoting safe menstrual practices among adolescent girls. Objectives: To assess the knowledge and practices regarding menstrual hygiene among adolescent schoolgirls before and after a structured health education program, and to determine the association between knowledge, practices, and selected demographic variables. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted among 70 adolescent girls aged 13–18 years studying in classes VIII to XI at S.B.K. Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Participants were selected using a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire assessing knowledge and a practice checklist on menstrual hygiene. The reliability of instruments was established using Carl Pearson’s formula (r = 0.7). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Chi-square test). Results: Nearly 47.1% of adolescent girls had average knowledge, while only 4.3% demonstrated excellent knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene. The mean knowledge score was 11.47 ± 3.28. Regarding menstrual hygiene practices, 98.6% of participants performed satisfactory practices, with a mean practice score of 11.41 ± 0.64. No significant association was found between knowledge or practices and selected demographic variables such as age, class, or parental education. Conclusion: The findings reveal that while most adolescent girls demonstrated satisfactory menstrual hygiene practices, their knowledge was only average. Structured health education programs can enhance awareness, correct misconceptions, and promote better menstrual hygiene management among school-going adolescent girls.