Assessment of menstrual hygiene management and its determinants among adolescent girls: A cross-sectional study in school adolescent girls in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract Introduction Managing menstruation is essentially dealing with menstrual flow and also in continuing regular activities like going to school, working etc. However, menstruation can place significant obstacles in girls’ access to health, education and future prospects if they are not equipped for effective menstrual hygiene management. Objective To assess the menstrual hygiene management and its determinant among school girls in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods Cross-sectional study design with quantitative method was carried out among 770 systematically selected adolescent school girls of Addis Ababa from April 1 to May 5, 2017. A self-administered pre-test close ended Amharic questionnaire at school setting was used for data collection. The coding was done using the original English version and entered to EPI-7 software. The quantitative file exported to statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 25.0 software for analysis. Total mean score was used to categorize individuals as good and poor while AOR; 95% CI with p < 0.05 was used to determine factors of menstrual hygiene management practice. Result This study had 98% response rate. 530 (70.1%) and 388(51.3%) respondents had good knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene respectively. The findings also showed a significant positive association between good knowledge of menstruation and girls from mother’s whose education were secondary (AOR = 10.012, 95 % CI = 3.628-27.629). Wealth index quantile five (AOR = 9.038, 95 % CI = 3.728-21.909) revealed significant positive association with good practice of menstrual hygiene. Conclusion and recommendation Majority of participants had good knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene and majority of them were from private school. Although knowledge was better than practice, girls should be educated about the process, use of proper pads or absorbents and its proper disposal.