This study aimed to assess awareness of menstrual hygiene and its relationship to UTIs and RTIs among adolescent girls in Dharavi, Mumbai. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 140 girls aged 13-19 using questionnaires. The results showed that while most girls were aware of menstrual hygiene practices, awareness of its importance in preventing infections was low. Many social factors like cost, beliefs, and lack of privacy hindered proper practice of menstrual hygiene. The study concluded that awareness of menstrual hygiene exists but is not effectively translated into practices due to various social barriers.

1. 1
SCHOOL OF HEALTH SYSTEM STUDIES
Individual Study Report of Urban Internship
To study the level of awareness about menstrual hygiene and the
relationship between menstrual hygiene and UTIs and RTIs and the social
factors associated with practice of Menstrual Hygiene
Under the guidance of: Presented by:
Dr. Anil Kumar Dr. Akanksha Verma
Professor, M2014PHSE0002
Centre for Health and Social Sciences,
School of Health Systems Studies

2. 2
INDEX
1. Summary
2. Literature Review
3. Rationale
4. Aims and objectives
5. Methodology
6. Observation
7. Results and analysis
8. Limitation
9. Conclusion
10. Recommendation
11. Acknowledgement
12.References
13.Appendix

3. 3
SUMMARY
Objectives:
To study the level of awareness about Menstrual Hygiene among Adolescent
Girls and also their level of awareness about the relation between Menstrual
Hygiene and UTI and RTI and the social factors associated.
Methodology:
It was a cross-sectional study conducted in Shastri Nagar , Gopinath colony ,
Indira Qureshi Nagar and Mukund Nagar between feb 2015 and march 2015.a
two staged sampling was used i.e consecutive sampling in the first stage and a
convenient sampling in the second stage. A total sample of 140 adolescent girls
in the age group between 13 to 19 yrs was selected.
Results:
The analysis shows that majority of the respondents were in the agr group of 13
to 15 yrs. Majority of the respondents are in high school education.93% of the
respondents are hindu.it showed that majority of the respondents had a basic
knowledge about the basic changes which occur in the body and the association
of them with reproductive health. Further they had some idea about the special
hygiene which is required to be maintained during menstruation. But the
awareness between the relationship between menstrual hygiene and UTI and
RTI was comparatively low. Many social factors like economic cost , personal
beliefs , lack of privacy were responsible for the low level of practice of
menstrual hygiene among the respondents.
Discussion:
Results show that although there is awareness among the adolescents about
menstrual hygiene but awareness about its importance and its relationship
between UTI and RTI is very low. Also there are various social factors which
impede the practice of menstrual hygiene.

4. 4
Conclusion:
Though there is a good level of awareness among the respondent population
about menstrual hygiene but practicing it is relatively low. Further there is low
level of knowledge about its importance.

5. 5
LITERATURE REVIEW:
Menarche constitutes a very important milestone in the life of a girl. It is not
only the start of her reproductive life but also accompanies various other things
with it.
Various studies have been conducted on the level of awareness about menstrual
hygiene and the menstrual hygiene practices followed among adolescent girls.
One study (Dasgupta. A and Sarkar M) done in West Bengal showed that
around 64% of the girls were aware of menstruation prior to its initiation and
the source of this information was mainly from the school and the teachers.
Also it was found that level of education of the mother had a positive
correlation between increased awareness about menstrual hygiene and
practicing it.
Another study done in Nagpur, Maharashtra , to compare the level of
knowledge about menstrual hygiene and the practices followed showed that
awareness regarding menstruation was more in urban adolescent girls (63.38%)
as compared to rural (47.57%).
Further another study done in Uttrakhand (Sen and Sen) to elicit the knowledge
and source of information regarding menstruation among adolescent girls and
also to find out the practices followed by them during menstruation also showed
that there is low level of awareness among the respondents Awareness among
rural girls was significantly more as compared to urban girls. Friends were the
first informant in about 31.8 % girls. But the correct reason and source of
bleeding during menstruation was not known to most of the respondents.
Overall 38.4 % adolescent girls (48.1% Rural and 27.6% Urban) were using
sanitary napkins as menstrual absorbent, while 30 % were using a new cloth/rag
every time.
Another study on Menstrual health and Reproductive Health in Rajasthan(
Anoop Khanna and R.S.Goyal)indicates that a significantly large proportion
of girls were not aware of menstruation when they first experienced it. Mothers,
sisters and friends were found to be the major source of information. Much of
this information imparted to a young girl is in the form of restrictions on her
movements and behaviour.

6. 6
RATIONALE OF THE STUDY:
Adolescents comprise 20% of the world's total population.Out of 1.2 billion
adolescents worldwide, about 85% live in developing countries. In India, there
are 190 million adolescents comprising 21% of India's total populationand
amongst it the adolescent girl is a doubly burdened section.
It is an irony that the society wants a BLEEDING GIRL,but still menstruation
as a health issue is not discussed frequently and openly in the
society.Menstruation and the hygienic practices are still clouded by taboos and
sociocultural restrictions resulting in adolescent girls remaining ignorant of the
scientific facts and hygienic health practices, which sometimes result into
adverse health outcomes. The worst sufferers of this taboo is the most
vulnerable section of the society ie the adolescent girls.Menstrual hygiene, a
very important risk factor for reproductive tract infections, is a vital aspect of
health education for adolescent girls.
Adolescent girls constitute a vulnerable group, particularly in India where
female child is neglected one. Menstruation is still regarded as something
unclean or dirty in Indian society. The reaction to menstruation depends upon
awareness andknowledge about the subject. Although menstruation is a natural
process, it is linked with several misconceptions and practices, which
sometimes result into adverse health outcomes.
Hygiene-related practices of women during menstruation are of considerable
importance, as it has a health impact in terms of increased vulnerability to
reproductive tract infections (RTI). The interplay of socio-economic status, m -
enstrual hygiene practices and RTI are noticeable.
Today millions of women are sufferers of RTI and its complications and often
the infection is transmitted to the offspring of the pregnant mother.Issues
associated with menstruation are never discussed openly and the silence
surrounding menstruation burdens young girls by keeping them ignorant of this
biological function. Even after the attainment of menarche, very little
information is given to young girls about the physiological processes involved
and the hygienic practices to be followed.
Thus knowledge and awareness about the maintenance of menstrual hygiene
and the various consequences on the health status of the adolescent girls is an
important component.

7. 7
Further during my internship at CORP India organisation in Shastri Nagar ,
Dharavi , I found that there are many gaps which are prevalent in the level of
knowledge and awareness and the practices and also the social beliefs of the
adolescent girls in the area.
AIM OF THE STUDY:
Therefore,I intend to study the level of awareness among the adolescent girls
about the menstrual hygiene and also its relation to the prevention of UTI and
RTI and also the various social factors which play a role in preventing the
acceptance and following of the menstrual hygiene practices among the
respondent population.
Verbal consent from the respondents was obtained. Confidentiality of the
respondent was maintained.

8. 8
OBJECTIVES:
1. To elicit the beliefs, conception and source of information regarding
menstruation among adolescent girls.
2. To study the awareness about menstrual hygiene in adolescent girls.
3. To find out the status of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls.
4. To study the awareness about the relation between menstrual hygiene and
the UTI and reproductive health.
5. To study the impact of social factors on the menstrual hygiene practices.

9. 9
METHODOLOGY:
UNIVERSE OF STUDY:
Four areas in Dharavi i.e, Shastri Nagar, Indira Qureshi Nagar, Gopinath colony
and Mukund Nagar were selected. These areas were selected as two of these
areas i.e Shastri Nagar and Gopinath Colony are comparatively well developed
with respect to the socio-economic profile whereas other two areas, Indira
Qureshi Nagar and Mukund Nagar are less developed and therefore the sample
would be representative.
STUDY DESIGN:
Cross sectional quantitative study.

SAMPLING:
Sampling was done in two stages. In the first stage consecutive sampling was
done in which the respondents were taken from the vocational training centre
run by the organisation. From this around 80 respondents were taken. In the
second stage, Convenient sampling was done in which the sample was taken
from the community. From this around 60 respondents were taken from the four
areas of Shastri Nagar, Indira Qureshi Nagar, Mukund Nagar and Gopinath
Colony.

SAMPLE SIZE:140

INCLUSION CRITERIA:
Adolescent girls in the age group of 11 to 19 yrs is taken.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
Girls above the age of 19 are excluded.
TOOLS USED:
Semi structured questionnaire
ANALYSIS WAS DONE USING SPSSv22

10. 10
RESULT AND ANALYSIS
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS:
1. Age of the respondent:
The age of the respondent varied from 11 to 19 yrs . the majority of the sample
was from the age group 13 to 15 yrs and the second major chunk was from the
are group of 15 and above
2. Religion of the respondent:
Majority of the respondents were Hindus, around 64.6% followed by 29.2%
which were muslims and the rest 5% were christians.

11. 11
3. Educational status of the respondent:
Majority of the respondents have completed their high school ie 52.8% followed
by those who are studying in higher secondary ie 32.6%
4. Age of menarche:
For the maximum respondents the age of menarche was 12 yrs (47.9%) , for
another 26.4% it was 13 yrs . Only 4.9% had their menarche started at the age
of 14 yrs.

12. 12
Basic knowledge about menstruation and menstrual
hygiene:
The above table shows about the % of the respondents who had some awareness
about the changes which take place at some stage in life. 95.8% were aware of
these changes occuring at some point in their lives.
On the awareness about why these changes occur about 50.7% responded that it
is a natural phenomenon and there is no specific reason for these changes.
Further 27.1% said that these changes occur for a specific reason .on the other
hand 18.1% said that they were not aware of the reason for these changes to
occur and finally only a small proportion said that it is because of God’s curse.
Another important finding is that amongst the respondants the muslim
respondants ,majority of them feel that menstruation is bec of God’s curse and
not because of any specific reason

13. 13
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT MENSTRUATION AND ITS
IMPORTANCE:
Out of all the responents there was 100% result when it came to knowledge
about what is menstruation. Further 97.2% said that it is the blood discharge
from the private parts (vagina).
Around 65.3% of the respondents were aware of the relationship between the
menstrual bleeding and reproductive health and reproduction . they were aware
that menstruation is important for reproduction.another 24.3% were not aware
of the relation between the two, but this is a significant figure.

14. 14
Out of the total respondents , 72.9% considered menstrual discharge as
something good and which was important and necessary for the over all health
and reproductive health of the body . Whereas the rest considered that it was
something bad.

15. 15
Prior knowledge about menstruation and source of the
knowledge:
Out of the total respondants ,66% had some form of prior knowledge ABOUT
MENSTRUATION AND menstrual discharge and also about the practices to be
followed.
From the various sources who provided the prior knowledge about menstruation
and menstruation practices , the mother of the respondent was the most
important source. It was observed that in 31.9% cases mother was the prime
source of information. In other 23.6% cases teacher was the prime source of
information

16. 16
Knowledge about menstrual hygiene and methods practiced:
97.2% of the respondents had some awareness that some special hygiene is
required during menstruation and special care is necessary during this period.
Frther , 71.5% of the respondents were aware of the benefial effects of using a
sanitary anpkins more than that of the cloth and they said that they felt much
more hygenic when usiing a sanitary napkin and also they felt it was easy to use
and dispose , and also felt that it was very important to maintain personal
hygiene during menstruation.
For the things used to maintain personal hygiene , 41.7% used only water to
clean their private parts in order to maintain hygiene during menstruation, while

17. 17
around 32.6% used soap and water and about 22.9% used antiseptic and water
to clean their private parts to amintain hygiene.

18. 18
Difficulty faced in maintaining menstrual hygiene:
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4

19. 19
Although a large section of the respondents are aware about the menstrual
hygiene and its importance , still a very small section only practices it and
various reasons have been sighted for this.
Out of the total respondents of 140, 63.2% said that they faced some form of the
difficulty in practicing menstrual hygiene.
Some of the reasons sighted were lack of privacy due to lack of space in the
area ,another important reason which was sighted was the lack of proper
infrastructure in homes , colony, school for the proper disposal of the sanitary
napkin and also to dry the cloth or to dispose it properly. The third most
important factor was the economic cost associated with the buying of the
sanitary napkins.
About 52% said that they faced difficulty due to lack of proper infrastructure ,
53% said they faced problem due to lack of privacy and 49% said that economic
cost was the most important factor.

20. 20
Personal beliefs and perception about menstrual hygiene
Table 5
Table 6
Almost 100% of the respondents were aware that it is necessary to take bath
during periods and in order to maintain personal hygiene. Also 52.1% of the
respondents were aware that that there is a positive relation between menstrual
hygiene and a healthy reproductive tract and a healthy reproductive life.

21. 21
Awareness about the relation of menstrual hygiene and UTI and
the its symptoms
Table 7
Table 8
Table 9
Table 10

22. 22
Table 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 shows the knowledge about the relationship of menstrual
hygiene and its role in preventing urinary tract infections .also it shows the
percentage of the respondents who are aware about UTI and its symptoms.
Out of the total no. of respondants only half of the respondents were aware
about what is UTI .
Only a very small fraction of the respondents were aware about the relationship
between UTI and menstrual hygiene (23%).
Out of those who were aware about UTI only 44% were aware about the
symptoms of UTI and the most important symptoms which were explained by
the respondants included redness of the vagina ( 9.7% ) , itching sensation (
29%) , burning sensation in the urine ( 52.8%)
BELIEFS ABOUT SEVERITY AND SUSCEPTIBILITY OF DISEASE
DUE TO NON MAINTENANCE OF PERSONAL HYGIENE
Around 44% of the respondents believe that they can be susceptible for
reproductive problems if they don’t maintain menstrual hygiene

23. 23
When the respondents were asked about other people’s susceptibility for RTI if
they don’t maintain menstrual hygiene ,they showed a positive optimism
towards their being less susceptible than others
Also in case of UTI they again showed an unrealistic optimism towards
themselves than other of being less susceptible towards UTI in the absence of
maintaining menstrual hygiene than other

24. 24
SOCIAL FACTORS

25. 25
88% of the respondents agreed that there are many social factors which impede
them from following them proper menstrual hygiene and thus make them
vulnerable .
Various social factors were given, of which economic cost , personal beliefs ,
religion , were the most important factors which were posted by the
respondents.

26. 26
Discussion:
From the above results and analysis it can be observed that most of the
respondents were of the age group 131 and above and most of them have
completed. Further the majority of the respondents are hindus.
It can also be seen that majority of the respondents were aware about the
changes which take place in the body and around 22 % consider these changes
to happen because of some specific reason.
For the maximum respondents the age of menarche was 12 yrs (47.9%) , for
another 26.4% it was 13 yrs . Only 4.9% had their menarche started at the age
of 14 yrs. Around 50.7% responded that it is a natural phenomenon and there is
no specific reason for these changes. Further 27.1% said that these changes
occur for a specific reason .on the othhand 18.1% said that they were not aware
of the reason for these changes to occur and finally only a small proportion said
that it is because of God’s curse.
Another important finding is that amongst the respondants the muslim
respondants ,majority of them feel that menstruation is bec of God’s curse and
not because of any specific reason
Out of all the responents there was 100% result when it came to knowledge
about what is menstruation. Further 97.2% said that it is the blood discharge
from the private parts (vagina).
Around 65.3% of the respondents were aware of the relationship between the
menstrual bleeding and reproductive health and reproduction . they were aware
that menstruation is important for reproduction.another 24.3% were not aware
of the relation between the two, but this is a significant figure.
Of the total respondents , 72.9% considered menstrual discharge as something
good and which was important and necessary for the over all health and
reproductive health of the body . Whereas the rest considered that it was
something bad.Out of the total respondants ,66% had some form of prior
knowledge ABOUT MENSTRUATION AND menstrual discharge and also
about the practices to be followed.
From the various sources who provided the prior knowledge about menstruation
and menstruation practices , the mother of the respondent was the most
important source. It was observed that in 31.9% cases mother was the prime
source of information. In other 23.6% cases teacher was the prime source of
information Although a large section of the respondents are aware about the
menstrual hygiene and its importance , still a very small section only practices it
and various reasons have been sighted for this.
Out of the total respondents of 140, 63.2% said that they faced some form of the
difficulty in practicing menstrual hygiene.
Some of the reasons sighted were lack of privacy due to lack of space in the
area ,another important reason which was sighted was the lack of proper

27. 27
infrastructure in homes , colony, school for the proper disposal of the sanitary
napkin and also to dry the cloth or to dispose it properly. The third most
important factor was the economic cost associated with the buying of the
sanitary napkins.
About 52% said that they faced difficulty. lack of proper infrastructure, lack of
privacy, economic cost was the most important factor.
All the respondents were aware that it is necessary to take bath during periods
and in order to maintain personal hygiene. Majority of the respondents were
aware that that there is a positive relation between menstrual hygiene and a
healthy reproductive tract and a healthy reproductive life.Aboutthe knowledge
about the relationship of menstrual hygiene and its role in preventing urinary
tract infections a small percentage of the respondents who are aware about UTI
and its symptoms.
Out of the total no. of respondants only half of the respondents were aware
about what is UTI .
Only a very small fraction of the respondents were aware about the relationship
between UTI and menstrual hygiene (23%).
Out of those who were aware about UTI only 44% were aware about the
symptoms of UTI and the most important symptoms which were explained by
the respondants included redness of the vagina ( 9.7% ) , itching sensation (
29%) , burning sensation in the urine ( 52.8%)
88% of the respondents agreed that there are many social factors which impede
them from following them proper menstrual hygiene and thus make them
vulnerable .
Various social factors were given, of which economic cost , personal beliefs ,
religion , were the most important factors which were posted by the
respondents.
Conclusion:
Although a good % of the respondents were aware about the basics of menstrual
hygiene and menstruation , but still adequate knowledge is still lacking among
the respondents. Further lack of privacy , economic cost are the two main
important factors preventing adequate practice of these practices.

28. 28
Limitation :
1. Due to a smaller sample size a holistic sample representative of whole of
Dharavi couldn’t be take.
2. Further due to lack of time some more aspect of the study couldn’t be
studied.

29. 29
PROPOSAL FOR INTERVENTION:
Literature review:
One study conducted in in Udupi Taluk, Karnataka which was a school based
intervention study. In the study, awareness sessions were taken for the school
going adolescents about the importance of menstrual hygiene and following this
an exam was conducted to assess the level of awaereness. It was observed that
there was a significant increase in the level of awareness among the adolescents.
Another study was conducted in the south Gujarat which was an intervention
study aided by Govt. of India, where an intervention was taken in which
sanitary napkins were given to the school going adolescent girls .it was seen that
the rate of use of sanitary napkins increased to a considerable level. Another
school-based educational intervention on menstrual health among adolescent
girls in Bangladesh was undertaken in Bangladesh in which awareness sessions
were taken for a period of six months by qualified practitioners for the school
going adolescent girls. After the six month period the level of knowledge was
assessed and it was found that there was a considerable increase in the level of
awareness.
RATIONALE:
Menstrual hygiene is still a neglected subject in the Indian society where these
subject are still covered with many layers of religion, culture , respect and many
others.
This is even a bigger problem in Indian context where the girl child is one of the
most neglected section and when this child grows into an adolescent she goes
through many deliemas and confusions which she can’t discuss freely in our
male dominated society.
In such a situation the mother, the sister , the friend or the teacher comes to play
a very important role in clearing these doubts and become a ray of hope for this
growing girl.
Limited access to products for sanitary hygiene, and lack of safe sanitary
facilities could prove to be barriers to increased mobility and the likelihood of
resorting to unhygienic
practices to manage menstruation. Thus any intervention which tends to
improve the level of awareness about menstrual hygiene , improve access of the

30. 30
target population towards various services available can significantly make a
difference in improving the health of the adoloscents.
Objective:
1. To develop a teaching program to provide information and spread
knowledge among the target population ie the adolescent girls and further
assess the change in level of knowledge in the recipient population.
2. To increase the level of awareness about menstrual hygiene among
adolescent girls and help them build their self –esteem and confidence.
3. To increase the access to safe sanitary napkins for the adolescent girls
4. To ensure safe disposal of sanitary napkins in the schools and in the
community
Target Group; adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years
Intervention strategy:
1. A comprehensive health education program can be conducted for the
adolescents in the govt. school for about 2 to 3 months by some trained
professionals sponsored by either government or private and further the
level of knowledge can be assessed through a test to be included in the
curriculum. The education program can include lecture sessions followed
by interactive sessions with the students.
2. On the similar lines such interactive sessions can be undertaken for the
mothers and teachers , of the adolescent girls who become the most
important source of information for the girl but are of very less help
themselves due to inadequate knowledge.
3. Further community –based health education and outreach an be done in
the target population by the AWW and USHA in order to increase
awareness.
4. Monthly meetings can be done with the target population of the mothers
,relatives, sisters of the adolescent population in order to further enhance
their knowledge

31. 31
5. Demand generation for free or subsidized availability of sanitary napkins
can be done through USHA for the community or various self groups like
kishori-sanghs.
6. Anadditional mechanism for in-school youth would be that of theAEP
through the life skills courses for Classes IX and XI.
7. Supply side intervention through ensuring a supply of aproduct (sanitary
napkin) which is reasonably priced and ofhigh quality.
These interventions can be applied on the whole in Mumbai,with the help
of govt. schools and other private organisations and partners and the
effectiveness of the intervention can be assessed on the basis of a
questionnaire given in the schools to the students after ths completion of
the sessions
Also for the mothers these sessions can be taken with the help of AWW
in the semi –urban areas and community awareness programs with the
help of various groups.

32. 32
References:
Knowledge and practices of adolescent girls regarding reproductive health
with special emphasis on hygiene during menstruation. New Delhi:
National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (2007)
,Paul.D.
Awareness and practices of menstruation and 55pubertal changes amongst
unmarried female adolescents in a rural area of East Delhi. Indian J
Community Med. 2007; Nair P, Grover VL, Kannan A.
Knowledge and practices related to menstruation among tribal (gujjar)
adolescent girls. Ethno-Med. 2009; Dhingra R, Kumar A, Kaur M.
Awareness about reproduction and adolescent changes among school girls
of different socioeconomic status., 2006; .Gupta S, Sinha A.
Adolescence and menstruation. J Family Welfare. 2001; .Gupta J, Gupta H
Perception and practices regarding menstruation: A comparative study in
urban and rural adolescent girls. Indian J Community Med. 2005; .Deo DS,
Chattargi CH
Kathmandu.Is menstrual hygiene and management an issue for adolescent
school girls- A comparative study of four schools in different settings of
Nepal. Report Water-Aid in Nepal Publication. 2009. WaterAid &#8211
Narayan KA, Srinivasa DK, Pelto PJ. Puberty rituals, reproductive
knowledge and health of adolescent school girls in South India. Asia Pac
Popul J. 2001; 16(2):225-38.
Place of menstruation in the reproductive lives of women of rural north
India. Indian J Community Med. 2006; .Singh AJ
Dasgupta A, Sarkar M. Menstrual hygiene: how hygienic is the adolescent
girl? Indian J Community Med. 2008;
Gupta S, Sinha A. Awareness about reproduction and adolescent changes
among school girls of different socioeconomic status. J Obstet Gynecol India.
2006
Dasgupta A, Sarkar M. Menstrual hygiene: How hygienic is the adolescent girl

33. 33
Water Aid. Is menstrual hygiene and management an issue for adolescent
school girls
Perceptions and practices regarding menstruation: a comparative study in urban
and rural adolescent girls. Indian J Community Med. 2005; Deo DS, Ghattargi
CH
Menstrual hygiene among adolescent schoolgirls in Mansoura, Egypt. Reprod
Health Matters. 2005; El-Gilany AH, Badawi K.
Indian Medical Gazette Effectiveness of Planned Teaching Programme
onReproductive Health Among Adolescent Girls(Gouri Kumari Padhy)
Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene among AdolescentGirls (10-19 Years) in
Rural Areas.

34. 34
APPENDIX
1. Name
2. Age
3. Education status
a. non-educated
b. 10th
4.Religion
a.hindu
b.muslim
c.christian
d.others
5.
Do you know that some body changes takes place at certain age.
1-YES
2-NO
8. Why do these changes occur?
1-natural physiological process
2-for some specific reason
3-God’s curse
9. At what age do these changes occur?
1-below 10yrs
2-11 to 13 yrs
3- 13 TO 16 YRS
10.AGE OF MENARCHE?
1-11yrs
2-12yrs
3-13yrs
4-14yrs
11.AWARNESS ABOUT BODY CHANGES?
1-yes
2-no

35. 35
12.WHY CHANGES OCCUR?
1-natural phenomenon
2-specific reason
3-God’s curse
4-others
13.What is menstruation?
1-discharge of blood from vagina
2-discharge of white fluid from vagina
3-other
14.Is discharge in menstrual cycle is bad?
1-yes
2-no
15.Does menstrual cycle is related to pregnancy?
1-yes
2-no
16.Do you have any knowledge about it before its start?
1-yes
2-no
17.If yes ,who provided this ?
1-mother
2-sister
3-friend
4-teacher
5-other
18.Do you know that some special hygiene is required during this time?
1-yes
2-no
19.What did you use as an absorbent?
1-sanitary pads
2-cloth
3-others

36. 36
20.Do you think it is important to wash your private parts regularly?
1-yes
2-no
20. What do you use for it?
1-only water
2-soap and water
3-Antiseptic and water
21. It is difficult to manage menstrual hygiene because of
1- lack of infrastructure to dispose of used cloths in school
2-lack of privacy to dry washed ones at home
3-economic cost
4-specify
22. is Bath during a menstrual cycle necessary?
1-yes
2-No
23. Do you know about common prevalence of urinary tract infection in
females and its association with lack of or poor menstrual hygiene?
1-Yes
2-No
24. Do you know what are the common symptoms of urinary tract
infection?
1-Swelling of the vagina
2-Itching of the vagina
3-White discharge
4-others
25. Does any of your social practices prevent you from maintain
menstrual hygiene?
1-yes
2-no
26. Elaborate the social practices.?

37. 37
27. What do you think are the difficulties faced during mensuration, if
any?
28. What are the factors which prevent you from following proper menstrual
hygiene?
1. lack of proper places for disposal
2-lack of spaces in the houses
3-Improper toilet facilities
4-Cost.
5-Others.Elaborate.
29. MENSTRUATION IMPORTANT FOR REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE?
1-yes
2-no
30. IS IT IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN PERSONAL HYGIENE?
1-yes
2-no
31. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REPRODUCTIVE AND MENSTRUAL HYGIENE
AWARNESS?
1-yes
2-no
32. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MENSTRUAL HYGIENE AND UTI?
1-yes
2-no
33. You CAN BE SUSCEPTIBL TO UTI PROBLEMS IF U DONT MAINTAIN MH?
1-yes
2-no
34. OTHERS CAN BE SUSCEPTIBLE FOR UTI IF YOU DON'T MAINTAIN
PERSONAL HYGIENE?
1.yes
2.no
34. LACK OF MENSTRUAL HYGIENE CAN LEAD TO OTHER HEALTH
PROBLEMS IN OTHERS?
1-yes
2-no

38. 38
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
I would like to thank the Institute for giving us the opportunity to gain such
valuable experience. I would also like to thank the organisation CORP India
which we were placed in for helping us throughout the two months of
internship. I would also like to specially thank my internship supervisor Dr.
Anil Kumar for constantly guiding me throughout the internship. Last but not
the least I would like to thank all the people who took timeout of their busy
schedules to answer questions for my group as well as individual study.