Knowledge and Menstrual Hygiene Practices among Adolescent Female Apprentices in Lagelu Local Government Area, Ibadan, Nigeria

Poor menstrual hygiene practices continue to exist in Nigeria like most developing countries due to persistent problems of lack of sanitary pad for adolescent by their parents, menstrual hygiene education by mothers and time for observing good menstrual hygiene. Hence this study assessed knowledge and practices of menstrual hygiene among adolescent female apprentices in Lagelu Local Government area of Oyo state. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 421 female apprentices between the ages of 10-19years. A semi-structured pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire that contained 15-point knowledge and 12-point practice scales was used to collect data from respondents. Knowledge score of 0-5 was rated poor, 6-10 as fair and 11-15 as good. Practice score of <7 was rated poor while score ≥7 was rated good. Data were analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics with aid of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences version 21 at p≤0.05. Mean age at menarche was found to be 13.4±1.4. Majority (96.2%) were single and 50.3% being Muslims. Although 77.4% were aware of menstruation before menarche, only 50.8% possessed good knowledge of menstruation. Hygiene knowledge was found to be very poor as only 22.6% correctly knew that menstrual blood comes from the uterus and 55.5% did not know the normal length of menstrual cycle. Factors significantly associated with knowledge of respondents included fathers’ and mothers’ level of education while those associated with practice included lack of private washing facilities for cloth and napkin, private disposal facilities for disposable absorbent materials and lack of menstrual hygiene education session. Provision of menstrual hygiene education by mothers and other relevant stakeholders as well as provision of cleaning facilities are key to improve menstrual hygiene practice of respondents.