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The association between menstrual hygiene, workplace sanitation practices and self-reported urogenital symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of women working in Mukono District, Uganda

BACKGROUND: Women worldwide experience challenges managing their periods. Menstrual and genital hygiene behaviours have been linked to negative health outcomes, including urogenital symptoms and confirmed infections. However, evidence testing this association has been limited and mixed. This study a...

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Autores principales: Borg, Sarah A., Bukenya, Justine N., Kibira, Simon P. S., Nakamya, Petranilla, Makumbi, Fredrick E., Exum, Natalie G., Schwab, Kellogg J., Hennegan, Julie
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10358934/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37471386
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288942
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author Borg, Sarah A.
Bukenya, Justine N.
Kibira, Simon P. S.
Nakamya, Petranilla
Makumbi, Fredrick E.
Exum, Natalie G.
Schwab, Kellogg J.
Hennegan, Julie
author_facet Borg, Sarah A.
Bukenya, Justine N.
Kibira, Simon P. S.
Nakamya, Petranilla
Makumbi, Fredrick E.
Exum, Natalie G.
Schwab, Kellogg J.
Hennegan, Julie
author_sort Borg, Sarah A.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Women worldwide experience challenges managing their periods. Menstrual and genital hygiene behaviours have been linked to negative health outcomes, including urogenital symptoms and confirmed infections. However, evidence testing this association has been limited and mixed. This study aimed to (1) describe the menstrual care practices and prevalence of self-reported urogenital symptoms among working women in Mukono District, Uganda, and (2) test the associations between menstrual and genital care practices, and urogenital symptoms. METHODOLOGY: We undertook a cross-sectional survey of women aged 18–45 working in markets, schools, and healthcare facilities in Mukono District, with 499 participants who had menstruated in the past two months included in this analysis. We developed an aggregated measure of menstrual material cleanliness, incorporating material type and laundering practices. Associations with urogenital symptoms were tested using the aggregated material cleanliness measure alongside the frequency of changing materials, handwashing before menstrual tasks, and sanitation practices. RESULTS: Among our sample, 41% experienced urogenital symptoms in the past month. Compared to women exclusively using disposable pads, using appropriately cleaned or non-reused improvised materials (PR = 1.33, 95%CI 1.04–1.71), or inadequately cleaned materials (improvised or commercially produced reusable pads) (PR = 1.84, 95%CI 1.46–3.42) was associated with an increased prevalence of self-reported urogenital symptoms in the last month. There was no difference between those using disposable pads and those using clean reusable pads (PR = 0.98; 95%CI 0.66–1.57). Infrequent handwashing before changing materials (PR 1.18, 95%CI: 0.96–1.47), and delaying urination at work (PR = 1.37, 95%CI: 1.08–1.73) were associated with an increased prevalence of self-reported symptoms. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of self-reported urogenital symptoms was associated with the type and cleanliness of menstrual material used as well as infrequent handwashing and urinary restriction. There is a need for interventions to enable women to maintain cleanliness of their menstrual materials and meet their menstruation, urination and hand washing needs at home and work.
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spelling pubmed-103589342023-07-21 The association between menstrual hygiene, workplace sanitation practices and self-reported urogenital symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of women working in Mukono District, Uganda Borg, Sarah A. Bukenya, Justine N. Kibira, Simon P. S. Nakamya, Petranilla Makumbi, Fredrick E. Exum, Natalie G. Schwab, Kellogg J. Hennegan, Julie PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: Women worldwide experience challenges managing their periods. Menstrual and genital hygiene behaviours have been linked to negative health outcomes, including urogenital symptoms and confirmed infections. However, evidence testing this association has been limited and mixed. This study aimed to (1) describe the menstrual care practices and prevalence of self-reported urogenital symptoms among working women in Mukono District, Uganda, and (2) test the associations between menstrual and genital care practices, and urogenital symptoms. METHODOLOGY: We undertook a cross-sectional survey of women aged 18–45 working in markets, schools, and healthcare facilities in Mukono District, with 499 participants who had menstruated in the past two months included in this analysis. We developed an aggregated measure of menstrual material cleanliness, incorporating material type and laundering practices. Associations with urogenital symptoms were tested using the aggregated material cleanliness measure alongside the frequency of changing materials, handwashing before menstrual tasks, and sanitation practices. RESULTS: Among our sample, 41% experienced urogenital symptoms in the past month. Compared to women exclusively using disposable pads, using appropriately cleaned or non-reused improvised materials (PR = 1.33, 95%CI 1.04–1.71), or inadequately cleaned materials (improvised or commercially produced reusable pads) (PR = 1.84, 95%CI 1.46–3.42) was associated with an increased prevalence of self-reported urogenital symptoms in the last month. There was no difference between those using disposable pads and those using clean reusable pads (PR = 0.98; 95%CI 0.66–1.57). Infrequent handwashing before changing materials (PR 1.18, 95%CI: 0.96–1.47), and delaying urination at work (PR = 1.37, 95%CI: 1.08–1.73) were associated with an increased prevalence of self-reported symptoms. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of self-reported urogenital symptoms was associated with the type and cleanliness of menstrual material used as well as infrequent handwashing and urinary restriction. There is a need for interventions to enable women to maintain cleanliness of their menstrual materials and meet their menstruation, urination and hand washing needs at home and work. Public Library of Science 2023-07-20 /pmc/articles/PMC10358934/ /pubmed/37471386 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288942 Text en © 2023 Borg et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Borg, Sarah A.
Bukenya, Justine N.
Kibira, Simon P. S.
Nakamya, Petranilla
Makumbi, Fredrick E.
Exum, Natalie G.
Schwab, Kellogg J.
Hennegan, Julie
The association between menstrual hygiene, workplace sanitation practices and self-reported urogenital symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of women working in Mukono District, Uganda
title The association between menstrual hygiene, workplace sanitation practices and self-reported urogenital symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of women working in Mukono District, Uganda
title_full The association between menstrual hygiene, workplace sanitation practices and self-reported urogenital symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of women working in Mukono District, Uganda
title_fullStr The association between menstrual hygiene, workplace sanitation practices and self-reported urogenital symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of women working in Mukono District, Uganda
title_full_unstemmed The association between menstrual hygiene, workplace sanitation practices and self-reported urogenital symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of women working in Mukono District, Uganda
title_short The association between menstrual hygiene, workplace sanitation practices and self-reported urogenital symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of women working in Mukono District, Uganda
title_sort association between menstrual hygiene, workplace sanitation practices and self-reported urogenital symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of women working in mukono district, uganda
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10358934/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37471386
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288942
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