Menstrual Morbidities, Menstrual Hygiene, Cultural Practices during Menstruation, and WASH Practices at Schools in Adolescent Girls of North Karnataka, India: A Cross-Sectional Prospective Study

Table 3

Menstrual hygiene practices among the participants by the place of residence.

Menstrual hygiene practices	Urban		Rural		value
	N	Percentage	N	Percentage
Materials used during periods
Pad	427	69.8	291	72.0	0.055
Cloth	96	15.4	41	10.1
Pad and cloth	87	14.2	66	16.3
Not disclosed	5	0.7	6	1.5
Reason for not using pad
No knowledge	74	12.1	51	12.6	0.800
High cost	48	7.8	28	6.9	0.588
Shyness	27	4.4	11	2.7	0.165
Disposal problem	90	14.7	64	15.8	0.621
Unavailability	19	3.1	17	4.2	0.352
Reason for using cloth
Easy availability	57	9.3	40	9.9	0.755
Low cost	18	2.9	9	2.2	0.489
Reusable	24	3.9	19	4.7	0.545
Safer than pad	72	11.8	42	10.4	0.499
Advised by elders	87	14.2	59	14.6	0.863
Place of drying cloth
Sunlight	245	40.0	198	49.0	0.005
Without sunlight	367	60.0	206	51.0
Cleaning of genitals
>2 times	364	59.5	221	54.7	0.039
<2 times	189	30.9	153	37.9
Only during bathing	40	6.5	15	3.7
Not disclosed	19	3.1	15	3.7
Materials used for washing
Water and soap	550	89.9	341	84.4	0.009
Water	62	10.1	63	15.6
Bathing during menses
Yes	568	92.8	383	94.8	0.204
No	44	7.2	21	5.2
Disposal of pad
Burning	177	28.9	188	46.5	<0.001
Dustbin	369	60.3	167	41.3	<0.001
Burying	25	4.1	23	5.7	0.237

Note.Significant at 5% level of significance (); N is the number of participants.