Menstrual hygiene management inequalities among school girls in Badagry, Nigeria

<p></p><div> <h3> Objectives</h3> <p>The study assessed menstrual hygiene management (MHM) inequalities among public and private in-school adolescents in Badagry, southwest Nigeria. Also assessed was the impact of available water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities on MHM within the school premises.</p> <h3> Methods</h3> <p>For this descriptive cross-sectional study, 420 students were selected via multi-stage sampling and data were obtained via a validated semi-structured questionnaire and observational checklist. Data were analysed at 95% confidence limit.</p> <h3> Results</h3> <p>The students had a mean age of 15.3 ± 1.6 years. All the private schools had functioning WASH facilities whereas only 50% of public schools did. The toilet to student ratios for the private and public schools were 1:155 and 1:296, respectively. Over two-thirds (67.1%) of the students reportedly use sanitary napkins for MHM, followed by tissue (17.1%) and clothes (15.5%). Additionally, the private school students were two times less likely to use alternatives to sanitary napkins and 9.8 times more likely to obtain sanitary materials at school if required (<i>p</i> < 0.001). A significantly higher proportion of public-school menstruating in-school adolescents changed their sanitary towels in the bush (<i>p</i> = 0.003) due to lack of privacy and took their used sanitary materials home (<i>p</i> < 0.001) for management due to reduced access to sanitary bins.</p> <h3> Conclusion</h3> <p>Even though the situation in the public schools was worse, both public and private schools lack the enabling environment for MHM. School health promotion interventions, such as provision of subsidised/affordable menstrual pads and basic WASH facilities and campaigns to break the culture of silence are required for the wellbeing of girls.</p> </div><p></p><h2>Other Information</h2> <p> Published in: Tropical Medicine & International Health<br> License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13817" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13817</a></p>