Intervention to Improve Menstrual Health Among Adolescent Girls Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior in Iran: A Cluster-randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVES: Poor menstrual health may lead to school absenteeism and adverse health outcomes for adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of pubertal and menstrual health education on health and preventive behaviors among Iranian secondary school girls. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a health intervention program. A total of 578 students (including intervention and control participants) in 12 schools in Tehran Province, Iran were included by multistage random sampling. The program comprised seven 2-hour educational sessions. After confirming the reliability and validity of a researcher-made questionnaire, that questionnaire was used to collect the required data, and the groups were followed up with after 6 months. RESULTS: After the educational intervention, the mean scores of menstrual health-related knowledge and constructs of the theory of planned behavior were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (p<0.001 for all dimensions). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study emphasize the effectiveness of menstrual health interventions in schools. These findings should also encourage health policy-makers to take committed action to improve performance in schools.