Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Menstrual Hygiene among School Going Girls in Rural and Urban Schools in Dehradun: A Comparative Study

Menstruation is a natural biological process experienced by all adolescent girls and women, still it is associated with social taboos and embarrassment. The concept of menstrual hygiene is inadequately acknowledged and there is a wide gap in the knowledge about menstruation among adolescent girls. There is also significant disparity in the services provided to girls in urban and rural setup and can have severe effects on the education of the girlchild. Effective menstrual hygiene is vital to health, well-being, dignity, and productivity of girls. Menstrual hygiene and management will directly contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, SDG - 3 on good health and well-being, SDG – 4 on quality education and SDG - 5 on gender equality. Objectives: 1. To assess the knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene and estimating the gap between the knowledge of menstrual hygiene among school going girls in rural and urban schools.2. To identify the factors influencing the hygiene behaviour among menstruating school girls.3. To map out the various hygiene practises followed during menstruation. Materials and method: A school based cross sectional study was conducted among 505 school girls urban and rural areas (Government and Private schools) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. A semi-structured, pretested close and open-ended questionnaire was prepared in both Hindi and English language to obtain maximum results. Data Entry was done in MS excel and used SPSS software for statistical analysis. Result: The mean age at menarche was found to be 12.95 ± 1.730 years. Mothers were the first informants for only 57.82 % of the girls. Inadequate knowledge was obtained on the physiology of menstruation especially in rural areas.62.26 % girls in rural areas faced restrictions in rural areas in comparison to 42.18 % girls in urban areas during menstruation.