Knowledge Of Sanitary Pads Use And Menstrual Hygiene Among Women In Katsina State, Nigeria
Anifat Abdurraheem, Ilim Moses Msughter, Safiyya Lawal Danmusa
Keywords: Knowledge, reproductive health, sanitary pads, menstruation, hygiene practices
Abstract
Acess to sanitary pads remains a huge challenge to women in developing countries including Nigeria and Katsina State. In addressing this challenge, this study investigates the level of knowledge women in semi-urban communities of Katsina State have on menstruation and different sanitary pads use practices that these women adopt in order to maintain menstrual hygiene. A multistage sampling procedure was used and data were collected quantitatively from 221 women using questionnaire in Daura (49); Dutsinma (25); Kankara (31); Katsina (42); Funtua (33) and Malumfashi (41). Data analysis involves the use of descriptive statistics to describe knowledge, use of sanitary pad and menstrual hygiene practices in Katsina State. Chi-square was used to establish the relationship between education, income, age and knowledge, use as well as menstrual hygiene practices among women in Katsina State. The study results show that most women of menstruating age in Katsina lack awareness about the health risks of unhygienic menstrual products and their menstrual cycle. They also lack access to safe and affordable sanitary pads, leading to infrequent pad changes and use of unhygienic alternatives. Result from the tested hypotheses revealed statistically significant relationship between income, marital status, age, educational level of women and their use of sanitary pads. The study concludes that women with higher level of education appropriately use sanitary pads than women with lower level of education. The study recommends that there is need for government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to collaborate and make sanitary pads available and accessible to women in Katsina State.
Author Biography
Anifat Abdurraheem, Ilim Moses Msughter
Department of Sociology, Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State
Safiyya Lawal Danmusa
Centre for Gender Studies, Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]