Priyanka Sarkar*

Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Gobardanga Hindu College (Under WBSU), West Bengal, India

*Corresponding Author: Priyanka Sarkar, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Gobardanga Hindu College (Under WBSU), West Bengal, India.

Received: May 25, 2023; Published: June 15, 2023

Abstract

Menstrual health and hygiene in India have been significant area of concern due to various challenges and cultural factors. In India, knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding menstrual hygiene vary across different regions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and age groups. Many women and girls in India lack proper information about menstruation. The present study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in West Bengal, India. A total of 683 adolescent girls aged 12 to 18 years participated in this study from rural and urban areas under six districts of West Bengal, India. Data on demographic and socio-economic variables, knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding menstruation health and hygiene were collected. The mean age of participants was 15.41 ± 2.04 years, whereas the mean age of menarche was 12.59 ± 0.47 years. The majority of the studied participants (69.11%) source of information on menstruation was their mother. Again, 63.25% of the studied participants used sanitary napkins followed by homemade clothes (36.16%). Age of the participants, area of residence, family type, monthly family income, newspaper reading, television viewing, and internet use were significantly (P < 0.0001) associated with menstrual materials use. Raising awareness, improving infrastructure, and providing access to affordable menstrual hygiene products is important to ensuring that adolescent girls and women in India can manage their menstruation safely, hygienically, and with dignity.

 Keywords: KAP Study; Menstrual Health and Hygiene; Indian Adolescent Girls

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Citation

Citation: Priyanka Sarkar. “Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Menstrual Hygiene Among Adolescent Girls in West Bengal, India”.Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 7.7 (2023): 68-74.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 Priyanka Sarkar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.