Introduction: Menstruation is a biological process exclusive to females. It is associated with many misconceptions and practices, which sometimes cause adverse health outcomes. Hence, all aspects of menstruation need to be understood by adolescent girls. In general, an insufficient level of awareness, with widespread myths, misconceptions and taboos about menstruation is harmful to human society.
Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2019 to November 2019. This study was done among 600 adolescent high school girls from 12 different high schools (6 rural and 6 urban) in
Belagavi. A set of structured questionnaires was prepared to assess their knowledge, attitude and practices regarding menstrual hygiene.
Result: The results showed there was no source of information available for 43.33% (n = 260) of students regarding menstruation before menarche. The overall percentages for knowledge, attitude, and practice about menstrual hygiene were 55.69%, 49.66%, and 47.52% respectively and out of the total, only 38.80% of respondents mentioned that the urination site and menstruation site are different and 22.60% did not know the cause of menstruation. During menstruation, 63.83% of respondents used sanitary pads, whereas 18.50% of girls relied on old clothes as sanitary aid.
Conclusion: Despite the government running various educational programmes, high school girls still need health education regarding menstruation, such as the absorbent material used, disposal of the absorbent material, hygiene followed during the menstrual period etc.
