Experiences of Menstruation with Factors Influencing Menstrual Hygiene Practices Among Adolescent Girls Attending Outpatient Department of Secondary Care Hospital Setting: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Menstruation is a physiological process as it brings changes in a young woman’s life. In this process, menarche is the most important phase in menstruation. It is the onset of first menstruation in girls. In today’s time also, menstruation is confused by different perceptions, myths, and misconceptions, which later affect their menstrual hygiene practices. Materials and Methods: The mixed method approach is adopted for the study. A qualitative approach using an in-depth interview was adopted for exploring the experiences of adolescent girls, and a quantitative approach was used for assessing factors influencing menstrual hygiene practices. Results: Adolescent girls had various experiences regarding their menarche. Seventy-four percent of girls had average menstrual hygiene practices. Several influencing factors were found and after applying binary logistic analysis four risk factors were found, which are caste, problems faced by girls during menses, frequency of changing pads, and method of disposal. Conclusion: The present study shows that girls had various experiences at the time of their menarche. They are having average menstrual hygiene practices, and there are various factors found which influence menstrual hygiene practices. Though there are several modules to maintain menstrual hygiene, still many adolescent girls lack resources such as a supply of clean water, availability of toilets, and use of sanitary pads.