ASSESSMENT OF MENSTURAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS OF DEDER SECONDARY SCHOOL, EASTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background:Poor menstrual hygiene has devastating effects among girls and women.For-instance,blood and tissue loss during menstruation if not properly handled exposes the female body to bacterial issues which may include;genital urinary tract infections and these can lead to chronic pelvic pain and infertility)women in low income countries still suffer from genital urinary tractinfection which could be associated with poor menstrual hygiene management).Lack of knowledge and poor personal hygienic practices during menstruation can lead to various gynecological problems in the reproductive life of girls like reproductive tract infections and inflammatory disorder. Public institute in the study area have been in low water and sanitation coverage and there is limited study regarding the menstrual hygiene practice and associated factors among adolescent girl students in Ethiopia in general and specifically in Deder Woreda secondary school. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the menstrual hygiene management practice and associated factors among adolescent girl students of Deder secondary school, Eastern Ethiopia from February 10/2021-March 10/2021 Method and material: This study uses a school based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 361 in-school adolescent girls of grade 9 and 10 in Deder woreda secondary school . A simple random sampling was used to select the students for the present study. The outcome variable for the present study was menstrual hygiene management practice among in-school adolescents. Data entered using Epi Data 3.1 and analysis was done using SPSS for windows version 20. Bi-variate and multivariable logistic regressions analysis were conducted to examine the determinant factors of menstrual hygiene practice of adolescent female in-school students. A p-value of 0.05 was used as a cut off value to declare statistical significance. Results: The proposed sample size for the present study was 363; however,a total of 361 adolescent female students participated in the study making the response rate 99.4%. The prevalence of Safe practice of menstrual hygiene management among in-school adolescent girls was one in five (36.4%). Mothers were the major source of information about menstruation before menarche and menstrual hygiene management as well In this study, students who family xii monthly income greater than 3500EB were six times [AOR: 5.806, 95% CI: 1.494, 12.259), P-value of 0.00} more likely managed their menses compared to those whose family monthly lower income. Students who discussed about menses with parent and friends were 4 times AOR:3.625,95% CI.1.128, 16.238 P-value of 0.000)More likely practice safe menstrual hygiene when compared to females who reported not discuss about menses with their parents and friends Conclusionsand Recommendation: Many adolescent girls 67% miss school because they lack appropriate facilities within school that allow for private management of their menstrual hygiene. Working on awareness creation on menstrual hygiene management and making school environment conducive to girls does greatly improve the menstrual hygiene management experience of young adolescent girls.