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Menstrual Hygiene Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among Female Medical Students in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional
Israt Jahan1, Munmun Hossain2, Swarna Paul3
1Department of Physiology, Ad-din Women's Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, BGD.
Background:
Menstrual hygiene management is an important public health issue related to reproductive health, dignity, and well-being. Although medical students are expected to have basic knowledge of reproductive physiology, gaps may persist in practical menstrual hygiene knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). This study aimed to assess KAP regarding menstrual hygiene among second-year female medical students.
Methods:
This single-institution cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2025 to June 2025 among second-year female medical students at Shahabuddin Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Of 63 eligible female second-year MBBS students, 46 participated and were recruited using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a pre-tested, structured, self-administered questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics and menstrual hygiene-related KAP. Composite KAP scores were calculated. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to examine factors associated with KAP scores.
Results:
The mean age of the participants was 20.98 ± 0.61 years. Twenty-one participants 21 (45.65%) resided in hostels, and 42 (91.30%) were from urban backgrounds. All participants reported awareness of menstruation, and 41 (89.13%) correctly identified the normal menstrual cycle length. Most participants strongly agreed that menstruation is a natural and normal process (42, 91.30%) and that proper menstrual hygiene has health benefits (44, 95.65%). Sanitary pads were the most commonly used menstrual product (43, 93.48%). However, only 26 (56.52%) correctly identified changing menstrual products every two to four hours as appropriate. Hostel residence was significantly associated with higher KAP scores (all p < 0.001). Urban background was also significantly associated with higher knowledge (p < 0.001), attitude (p = 0.005), and practice scores (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Second-year female medical students demonstrated good general awareness and favorable attitudes regarding menstruation and menstrual hygiene. However, practical gaps remained, particularly regarding appropriate menstrual product-changing frequency and product diversity. Hostel residence and urban background were associated with higher KAP scores, although findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the small sample size and single-institution design. Structured menstrual health education may help improve practical hygiene knowledge and future counseling capacity among medical students.
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