Knowledge and Practices Related to Menstrual Waste Disposal Among College GoingAdolescent Girls in an Urban Area

Background: Menstrual waste disposal has become an increasing problem in India due to lack of awareness about appropriate waste disposal. With rapid urbanization there is increased use of sanitary pads, including non-biodegradable menstrual products which are neither properly segregated nor properly disposed. Adolescents are future women, so there is need to study their current methods and knowledge about disposal of menstrual waste, as menstruation is being treated unclean in Indian society and issue continues to be brushed under the carpet. Objective:To study the knowledge and practices regarding menstrual waste disposal among adolescent girls. Methods:A community based cross-sectional study was conducted during June 2019 to December 2019 among 396 college going adolescent girls in the Latur city of Maharashtra State. Study individuals consisted of 396 adolescent girls of 11thand 12thgrade and first year graduates who were randomly selected from four colleges in the city. A predesigned questionnaire was administered to collect the data regarding menstrual waste disposal methods used by the adolescent girls.Results:Among 396 adolescent girls, majority (95.96%) of participants were between 17-19 years. 352 (88.89%) girls used sanitary pads while 25 girls used cotton.33.08% girls disposed the menstrual waste in household refuse and only 43 girls used incinerator for disposal.Out of 396 study participants, 302 (76.26%) mentioned that menstrual waste should be disposed along with household waste and 55.56% were not aware of the menstrual hygiene management programme. Conclusion:Majority of the adolescent girls were not aware of appropriate disposal of menstrual waste and hence disposed it inappropriately.