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      Menstrual Hygiene Awareness, Challenges and Management for Improving Quality of Life

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      BIO Web of Conferences
      EDP Sciences

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          Abstract

          Menstruation is a normal and necessary part of life, and maintaining proper menstrual hygiene is crucial for women's and girls' health as well as their right to access basic services for sanitation, hygiene, and reproductive health.Thesafe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) aspectof menstrual hygiene has significantly gained attention in recent times. In lowand middle-income nations, womenface significant menstrual hygiene management challenges. These problems stem from a lack of information and inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.Women frequently struggle with a lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, or if they do, the high priceof sanitary pad render them unaffordable. The lives of vulnerable women are significantly impacted by stigma and period poverty, forcing them to use unhygienic alternatives like dried leaves and soiled old clothes as sanitary pads. The Menstrual Hygiene Day is observed on May 28 because women menstruate on average five days per month and menstrual cycles last an average of 28 days. 25 percent of World Bank education projects included menstrual hygiene management components, such as the provision of sanitary and hygienic restrooms or separate restrooms for boys and girls in their schools.To empower women and tackle misinformation, this study will contribute to raising awareness regarding the management of menstrual hygiene.

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          Most cited references24

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          A Systematic Review of the Health and Social Effects of Menstrual Hygiene Management

          Background Differing approaches to menstrual hygiene management (MHM) have been associated with a wide range of health and psycho-social outcomes in lower income settings. This paper systematically collates, summarizes and critically appraises the available evidence. Methods Following the PRISMA guidelines a structured search strategy was used to identify articles investigating the effects of MHM on health and psycho-social outcomes. The search was conducted in May 2012 and had no date limit. Data was extracted and quality of methodology was independently assessed by two researchers. Where no measure of effect was provided, but sufficient data were available to calculate one, this was undertaken. Meta-analysis was conducted where sufficient data were available. Results 14 articles were identified which looked at health outcomes, primarily reproductive tract infections (RTI). 11 articles were identified investigating associations between MHM, social restrictions and school attendance. MHM was found to be associated with RTI in 7 papers. Methodologies however varied greatly and overall quality was low. Meta-analysis of a subset of studies found no association between confirmed bacterial vaginosis and MHM (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.52–2.24). No other substantial associations with health outcomes were found. Although there was good evidence that educational interventions can improve MHM practices and reduce social restrictions there was no quantitative evidence that improvements in management methods reduce school absenteeism. Conclusion The management of menstruation presents significant challenges for women in lower income settings; the effect of poor MHM however remains unclear. It is plausible that MHM can affect the reproductive tract but the specific infections, the strength of effect, and the route of transmission, remain unclear. There is a gap in the evidence for high quality randomised intervention studies which combine hardware and software interventions, in particular for better understanding the nuanced effect improving MHM may have on girls’ attendance at school.
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            Menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis

            Objectives To assess the status of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) among adolescent girls in India to determine unmet needs. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched PubMed, The Global Health Database, Google Scholar and references for studies published from 2000 to September 2015 on girls’ MHM. Setting India. Participants Adolescent girls. Outcome measures Information on menarche awareness, type of absorbent used, disposal, hygiene, restrictions and school absenteeism was extracted from eligible materials; a quality score was applied. Meta-analysis was used to estimate pooled prevalence (PP), and meta-regression to examine the effect of setting, region and time. Results Data from 138 studies involving 193 subpopulations and 97 070 girls were extracted. In 88 studies, half of the girls reported being informed prior to menarche (PP 48%, 95% CI 43% to 53%, I2 98.6%). Commercial pad use was more common among urban (PP 67%, 57% to 76%, I2 99.3%, n=38) than rural girls (PP 32%, 25% to 38%, I2 98.6%, n=56, p<0.0001), with use increasing over time (p<0.0001). Inappropriate disposal was common (PP 23%, 16% to 31%, I2 99.0%, n=34). Menstruating girls experienced many restrictions, especially for religious activities (PP 0.77, 0.71 to 0.83, I2 99.1%, n=67). A quarter (PP 24%, 19% to 30%, I2 98.5%, n=64) reported missing school during periods. A lower prevalence of absenteeism was associated with higher commercial pad use in univariate (p=0.023) but not in multivariate analysis when adjusted for region (p=0.232, n=53). Approximately a third of girls changed their absorbents in school facilities (PP 37%, 29% to 46%, I2 97.8%, n=17). Half of the girls’ homes had a toilet (PP 51%, 36% to 67%, I2 99.4%, n=21). The quality of studies imposed limitations on analyses and the interpretation of results (mean score 3 on a scale of 0–7). Conclusions Strengthening of MHM programmes in India is needed. Education on awareness, access to hygienic absorbents and disposal of MHM items need to be addressed. Trial registration number CRD42015019197.
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              Comfortably, Safely, and Without Shame: Defining Menstrual Hygiene Management as a Public Health Issue.

              In recent years, the menstrual hygiene management challenges facing schoolgirls in low-income-country contexts have gained global attention. We applied Gusfield's sociological analysis of the culture of public problems to better understand how this relatively newly recognized public health challenge rose to the level of global public health awareness and action. We similarly applied the conceptualization by Dorfman et al. of the role of public health messaging in changing corporate practice to explore the conceptual frames and the news frames that are being used to shape the perceptions of menstrual hygiene management as an issue of social justice within the context of public health. Important lessons were revealed for getting other public health problems onto the global-, national-, and local-level agendas.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                BIO Web of Conferences
                BIO Web Conf.
                EDP Sciences
                2117-4458
                2024
                January 12 2024
                2024
                : 86
                : 01024
                Article
                10.1051/bioconf/20248601024
                b9a2476a-1fef-4796-9bee-3243eec88248
                © 2024

                https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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