To study the effect of health education on knowledge of pubertal changes and menstrual hygiene

Abstract

Background: Puberty is stage of life when girls reach sexual maturity. This is the time when adolescents experience a change in their physical, social and emotional aspects of life. During this phase of growth, the girls first experience menstruation and related problems marked by feelings of anxiety and eagerness to know about this natural phenomenon.Aim and Objective: To assess the knowledge regarding pubertal changes, give health education about pubertal changes, menstruation and menstrual hygiene and assess the effect of health education.Materials and Methods: Interventional study among 309girls of 6th and 7th standard of St Agnes girls higher primary school, Mangalore. Pretest was taken, educational talk was given and a posttest was conducted.Results: In our study, awareness about menstruation improved from 96.9% to 99.7%. Knowledge of the changes that take place during puberty improved to 97% from 5.7%.Conclusion: Our study has proved lack of knowledge of adolescent girls about menstruation awareness of pubertal changes, hygiene.