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INTRODUCTION
Menstruation has been defined as the monthly (periodic) flow of blood from the uterus through the vagina (Nsemo et al., 2020). It occurs naturally among adolescents and pre-menopausal women (Budhathoki et al., 2018). it is a physiological phenomenon that occurs due to the changes in the ovarian cycle (Budhathoki et al., 2018; Nsemo et al., 2020). These changes affect the whole female body and not just the uterus (Budhathoki et al., 2018). The period of menstruation starts from age 11-15 years and terminates at age 55 years (Nsemo et al., 2020). The average menstrual cycle is 28 days, but it varies among women (Nsemo et al., 2020). Also, the average period of blood flow is about 4-5 days and the estimated amount of blood flow ranges from 50-150 ml, which varies among women (Nsemo et al., 2020).
Menstrual hygiene is very essential among adolescents and pre-menopausal women. This is because improper menstrual hygiene has been attributed to several problems such as reproductive issues, genitor-urinary tract infection, cervical cancer, school absenteeism, drop-out, poor academic performance, lower self-esteem, poor quality of life (Belayneh & Mekuriaw, 2019). On the part of the adolescent child, poor menstrual hygiene has led to a lack of self-confidence, fear, confusion, and shameful behaviors (Belayneh & Mekuriaw, 2019). Poor academic performance among young women or adolescents has also been reported to be associated with poor menstrual hygiene (Belayneh & Mekuriaw, 2019). This is because of blood leakage from their private part, unpleasant odor of the menses, staining of clothes, and dropping of sanitary materials during their class schedules. All these contribute to discomforting the adolescent child, affecting her concentration levels, class participation, and lack of confidence in studying (Belayneh & Mekuriaw, 2019; van Eijk et al., 2016). Ahmed and his colleague's recent study on the association between menstrual hygiene and academic performance discovered a significant association between poor menstrual hygiene and low academic performance (Ahmed et al., 2021). Therefore, it is important to understand what is involved in menstrual hygiene.
Menstrual hygiene has been defined as the act by which pre-menopausal women and adolescent girls adopt good hygiene management practice of their menses, which include using clean materials to absorb menstrual blood flow, cleaning and washing the body with soap and water, and proper disposal of used menstrual material inaccessible facilities (Budhathoki et al., 2018). It can also mean the availability of material resources to absorb or collect menstrual blood, facilitate personal hygiene and dispose of waste, ideally with adequate privacy (Budhathoki et al., 2018; Chauhan et al., 2019).
One of the contributory factors to poor menstrual hygiene is cultural taboos. This makes the girl refrain from seeking help when she starts experiencing menstruation, which will affect her menstrual hygiene and health (Lahme et al., 2018). Such cultures impose restrictions on their diet and activities when menstruating (van Eijk et al., 2016). In other nations such as India and Nepal, it has been observed that cultural taboos restrict menstruating women from social participation such as movement, interactions with others, and abstinence from religious activities (Budhathoki et al., 2018).
Another factor that leads to improper management of menstruation is poor awareness of hygiene practices which is common in low and middle-income countries. A study conducted among Nepal women and adolescent girls saw that the practice of menstrual hygiene was very low (Budhathoki et al., 2018). Belayneh & Mekuriaw, (2019) reported that the majority of adolescent school girls had poor knowledge regarding menstruation and their hygienic practices are incorrect. Lower age, longer duration of menses flow, and poor knowledge towards menstruation were significant correlates of poor hygienic practice (Belayneh & Mekuriaw, 2019). It was also estimated that about 40-45% of adolescent children had minimal knowledge of menstrual hygiene and that affected their practice in low and middle-income countries (Belayneh & Mekuriaw, 2019).
However, studies have shown that good knowledge of menstrual hygiene has a great impact on the practice of menstrual hygiene. This was evident in the study conducted among Ghanian Junior High School Girls (Nsemo et al., 2020; Asimah et al., 2017). Hence the reason van Eijk et al. suggested creating and strengthening menstrual hygiene management programs in India, also improvement in educational awareness on menstrual hygiene among young girls (van Eijk et al., 2016). Therefore, it is important to investigate the impact of menstrual hygiene on young adolescent girls.
AIM
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
RESEARCH PROBLEMS
Menstrual hygiene practice is a matter of public health concern as the young adolescent girl is affected from both health and social perspectives. Menstrual hygiene is very essential among adolescents and pre-menopausal women. This is because improper menstrual hygiene has been attributed to several problems such as reproductive issues, genitor-urinary tract infection, cervical cancer, school absenteeism, drop-out, poor academic performance, lower self-esteem, poor quality of life (Belayneh & Mekuriaw, 2019). On the part of the adolescent child, poor menstrual hygiene has led to a lack of self-confidence, fear, confusion, and shameful behaviors (Belayneh & Mekuriaw, 2019). Poor academic performance among young women or adolescents has also been reported to be associated with poor menstrual hygiene (Belayneh & Mekuriaw, 2019). Hence, it is important to study the impact menstrual hygiene has on young adolescent girls.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
The study is very important because of the societal and health challenges experienced by the girl child. Studies have shown that one of the contributory factors to poor menstrual hygiene is cultural taboos. This makes the girl refrain from seeking help when she starts experiencing menstruation, which will affect her menstrual hygiene and health (Lahme et al., 2018). Such cultures impose restrictions on their diet and activities when menstruating (van Eijk et al., 2016). Also, poor awareness is another factor that impacts the menstrual hygiene of the girl child. A study conducted among Nepal women and adolescent girls saw that the practice of menstrual hygiene was very low (Budhathoki et al., 2018). Therefore, this present study will focus on how these factors affect the social and health well-being of young adolescent girls.
METHODOLOGY
ANALYSIS
The following will be used for analysis in this review, they are; cluster analysis (CA) and/or factor analysis (FA), and/or principal component analysis (PCA). The results will be presented as odds ratios (OR).
RISK ASSESSMENT
The risk assessment conducted for this project is provided in the table below:
Table 1: Risk assessment
Risk
Impact
Mitigation Plan
Inability to meet the deadline
Low
Get an extension from the supervisor in due time
Inability to get required process inputs, skill, and manpower
Moderate
Refer to municipalities and research institutes for help
Inability to properly develop the process set up
High
Refer to your supervisor for help
Insufficient data
Refer to journals and textbooks for help
SCHEDULE
Table 2: Project Plan
Task Name
Start Date
End Date
Duration (Days)
Initial Research
15/01/2022
29/01/2022
14
Proposal
06/02/2022
21
Introduction Chapter
18/03/2022
23/03/2022
5
Literature Review Chapter
20/04/2022
24
Methodology Chapter
02/05/2022
12
Presentation 1
02/07/2022
10/07/2022
8
Analysis
24/07/2022
Evaluation of Gotten Results
01/08/2022
7
Discussion Chapter
11/08/2022
10
Evaluation Chapter
16/08/2022
Conclusion Chapter
18/08/2022
2
Project Management Chapter
20/08/2022
Abstract and Report compilation
22/08/2022
Report Proofreading
01/09/2022
Presentation 2
11/09/2022
REFERENCES
Ahmed, Md. S., Yunus, F. M., Hossain, Md. B., Sarker, K. K., & Khan, S. (2021). Association between Menstrual Hygiene Management and School Performance among the School-Going Girls in Rural Bangladesh. Adolescents, 1(3), 335–347. https://doi.org/10.3390/adolescents1030025
Asimah, S. A., Diabene, P. Y., & Wellington, S. N. L. (2017). Menstrual hygiene management in Ghana: Understanding the socio-cultural, economic, political factors, challenges, and opportunities. In Proceedings of the 40th WEDC International Conference, Loughborough, UK (pp. 24-28). Retrieved from https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/31431 and Hygiene
Belayneh, Z., & Mekuriaw, B. (2019). Knowledge and menstrual hygiene practice among adolescent school girls in southern Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7973-9
Budhathoki, S. S., Bhattachan, M., Castro-Sánchez, E., Sagtani, R. A., Rayamajhi, R. B., Rai, P., & Sharma, G. (2018). Menstrual hygiene management among women and adolescent girls in the aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal. BMC Women’s Health, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-018-0527-y
Chauhan, P., Shaik, R. A., Anusha, D. V. B., & Sotala, M. (2019). A study to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices related to menstrual cycle and management of menstrual hygiene among school-going adolescent girls in a rural area of South India. International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 8(2), 114-119.
https://doi.org/10.5455/ijmsph.2019.1131809112018
Lahme, A. M., Stern, R., & Cooper, D. (2018). Factors impacting on menstrual hygiene and their implications for health promotion. Global Health Promotion, 25(1), 54–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757975916648301
Nsemo, A. D., Ojong, I. N., Agambire, R., Adu, R., & Dankwah, M. (2020). Menstrual Hygiene Practices Among Adolescent Girls in Junior High Schools in Selected Communities of Ashanti Region, Ghana. Global Journal of Health Science, 12(8), 38. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v12n8p38
Tshomo, T., Gurung, M. S., Shah, S., Gil-Cuesta, J., Maes, P., Wangdi, R., & Tobden, J. (2021). Menstrual Hygiene Management—Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among Female College Students in Bhutan. Frontiers in Reproductive Health, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/frph.2021.703978
van Eijk, A. M., Sivakami, M., Thakkar, M. B., Bauman, A., Laserson, K. F., Coates, S., & Phillips-Howard, P. A. (2016). Menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in India: A Systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010290
Last updated: Feb 02, 2022 08:34 AM
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