Knowledge about menstrual hygiene, sexual health, and contraception in educated late adolescent age girls

AIM: Adolescents are future generation of our country. It is a vulnerable age making them susceptible to many health issues such as reproductive tract infections because of improper menstrual hygiene, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), unexpected pregnancies because of lack of awareness about contraceptive practices, and no proper guidance about sexual health. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge of college-going adolescent girls regarding menstrual hygiene and their awareness about HIV/AIDS, other STIs, and also their knowledge about contraception. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Girls studying diploma in government polytechnic college were assessed on the basis of a questionnaire survey. A predesigned questionnaire was prepared with reference from WHO adolescent health questionnaire and a health talk was organized in college. The questionnaire survey was done for 150 college girls. A health talk was given after girls filled the questionnaire. Only 125 girls gave filled questionnaire, whereas 25 returned without filling it. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and results were interpreted into percentages. Menstrual hygiene was given a score based on five parameters in the questionnaire. Correlation between mother's education and menstrual hygiene was assessed by Chi-square method. Similarly, correlation between mother's education and contraceptive knowledge was assessed by Chi-square test. RESULTS: Forty percent did not answer the question from where they knew about puberty. Mother was the most common source of information about puberty (28%). There was a high level of knowledge about menstrual hygiene; 88% of study population knew about HIV, but only 30.4% knew about other STIs. Fifty percent of them did not know about contraceptive options, and of the study population who knew about contraception, condom (32%) was the most aware method. There was no correlation between mother's education and knowledge about contraception (P value 0.16) by Chi-square test. Similarly, there was no correlation between mother's education and menstrual hygiene score (P value 0.222). CONCLUSIONS: Educated adolescents even though they belong to low socioeconomic class, irrespective of their mother's educational status, have a good knowledge about menstrual hygiene but lack knowledge about sexual health. School-based programs/Compulsory curriculum should be included by universities and colleges to encourage universal knowledge about contraception and sexual health.