TY - JOUR
T1 - Confidence to manage menstruation at home and at school
T2 - findings from a cross-sectional survey of schoolgirls in rural Bangladesh
AU - Hennegan, Julie
AU - Sol, Lidwien
N1 - Funding Information:
We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the Ritu trial implementing partner, Simavi, the field team, Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS) and Development Organisation of the Rural Poor (DORP) and the enumeration team from Capacity Building Service Group (CBSG). We owe special thanks to the participating schools and girls. The Ritu trial is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Dhaka, Bangladesh with additional support from Simavi. Support for JH’s time on the project was provided by The Case for Her, and The Osprey Foundation of Maryland.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - This study investigated girls’ confidence to undertake menstrual management tasks at home and in school environments using cross-sectional data from a survey of 1,359 schoolgirls in Bangladesh. At home, 57% of girls reported they were ‘very confident’ undertaking tasks to manage their menstrual bleeding, while this figure was only 7% at school. We assessed personal, interpersonal and environmental contributors for each context. The use of sanitary pads was positively associated with confidence to manage menstruation at home, while other menstrual hygiene practices were unrelated. In multivariable models, features of sanitation facilities such as cleanliness and the presence of a bin were associated with increased confidence at home. At school, supportive policies, such providing permission to use the toilet when needed, were associated with greater confidence. Talking to a friend about menstruation was positively associated with confidence at school, while at home having discussed menstruation with parents predicted lower confidence. Findings provide quantitative support for the role of multiple independent predictors in girls’ confidence to manage menstruation highlighted by qualitative studies. There is unlikely to be a single ‘silver bullet’ to improving menstrual experience.
AB - This study investigated girls’ confidence to undertake menstrual management tasks at home and in school environments using cross-sectional data from a survey of 1,359 schoolgirls in Bangladesh. At home, 57% of girls reported they were ‘very confident’ undertaking tasks to manage their menstrual bleeding, while this figure was only 7% at school. We assessed personal, interpersonal and environmental contributors for each context. The use of sanitary pads was positively associated with confidence to manage menstruation at home, while other menstrual hygiene practices were unrelated. In multivariable models, features of sanitation facilities such as cleanliness and the presence of a bin were associated with increased confidence at home. At school, supportive policies, such providing permission to use the toilet when needed, were associated with greater confidence. Talking to a friend about menstruation was positively associated with confidence at school, while at home having discussed menstruation with parents predicted lower confidence. Findings provide quantitative support for the role of multiple independent predictors in girls’ confidence to manage menstruation highlighted by qualitative studies. There is unlikely to be a single ‘silver bullet’ to improving menstrual experience.
KW - Bangladesh
KW - confidence
KW - menstrual health
KW - menstrual hygiene
KW - young women
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U2 - 10.1080/13691058.2019.1580768
DO - 10.1080/13691058.2019.1580768
M3 - Article
C2 - 30931818
AN - SCOPUS:85063608683
SN - 1369-1058
VL - 22
SP - 146
EP - 165
JO - Culture, Health and Sexuality
JF - Culture, Health and Sexuality
IS - 2
ER -