Knowledge and practices related to menstruation among tribal adolescent girls

BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that every girl has to deal with menstrual hygiene, there is a lack of awareness about the process of menstruation and proper menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls, especially from tribal backgrounds. AIM: The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge and practices related to menstruation among tribal (Munda) adolescent girls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a community-based cross-sectional study. The sample for the study consisted of 150 girls belonging to Munda tribe in the age group of 13–18 years, recruited by purposive sampling from various schools of Khunti district of Jharkhand state. Interview guide was predeveloped, validated, and used to study the knowledge and practices related to menstruation among adolescent girls. The data were collected by a personal interview of the study subjects. RESULTS: The mean age of menarche of the study subjects was 14.1 years. It was evident that only 48.67% of the participants were aware about menstruation before menarche and the most important source of the information about menstruation for them was their friends (53.33%) followed by mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge about menstruation is poor among tribal adolescent girls and practices included various myths and misconceptions.