Abstract
Menstrual hygiene has not received substantial attention thereby exposing the females to a gamut of diseases. Though menstruation is a physiological process, it is linked with various false practices and taboos. Dysmennorhoa and premenstrual symptoms are known to restrict the activities of young girls and can also an important cause of absenteeism from work and college. With this backdrop, the present study was conducted among medical students to assess the knowledge among medical students regarding menstrual hygiene and to determine the prevalence of college absenteeism during menstruation and find the prevalence of different pre menstrual symptoms.
Results: The mean age of menarche was 13.38+1.28years. Majority of the participants (82.31%) practiced good menstrual hygiene and had adequate menstrual hygiene knowledge.
The prevalence of college absenteeism was found to be 45.38%. The main reason for college absenteeism was found to be pain & discomfort (36.92%). It was found that most of girls restricted some activities during menstruation the most common being restricted to visit temple (71.54%). Doctors being the main health care provider should have adequate knowledge about menstrual hygiene and should be an integral part in promotion of reproductive health in the community.
Keywords: Menstrual hygiene, absenteeism, menstruation.
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Corresponding Author
Dr Shalini Ray
Department of Community Medicine, SGT Medical College, Gurugram, Haryana, India
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v6i10.72
