ABSTRACT:

Background: Good hygiene practices during menstruation are very crucial for the health of girls as well as adult women. Menstrual hygiene practices have not been given emphasis by most people and health promotion stakeholders. In most cultures menstruation is seen as something to be ashamed of, so most of the girls do not talk about it or feel comfortable discussing about menstruation and its practices. This study aimed at assessing menstrual hygiene practices and barriers among secondary school girls in Biharamulo district in North-western Tanzania.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 424 secondary school girls who were sampled randomly from 14 secondary schools in Biharamulo district. Structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data as well as data regarding menstrual hygiene practice. A menstrual hygiene score ranging from 3-15 was generated. Chi-square was used to determine the association between menstrual hygiene practice and different exposures, significance was considered at P<0.05. The primary outcomes were menstrual hygiene practices and barriers among secondary school girls. Data analysis was done by using SPSS version 23.

Results: Findings from the study show that 51.9 %among girls 424 studied had poor menstrual hygiene practice and 48.1% had good menstrual hygiene practice.20.8% reported using pads, and 29.3% use reusable cloths and 49.9% used both pads and reusable cloth during menstruation. There were 18.4% respondents who reported to use plain water to clean genitalia during menstruation and 81.1% used soap and water, and only 0.5% reported to be using antiseptic during menstruation period. The current study shows that 54.1% reported that they do not change their menstrual absorbents materials at school which was significantly associated with poor menstrual hygiene P=0.015).Seventeen (17.1%) reported to have disposable facilities in school toilet and 82.9% had no disposable facilities, this was significantly associated with poor hygiene (P=0.003).

Conclusion: Menstrual hygiene practices among secondary school girls in Biharamulo district is regarded as poor. Poor sanitary facilities such as lack of disposable facilities, water and soap facilities significantly do not allow girls to manage their menstruation in a hygienic way.