Menstrual hygiene management amongst schoolgirls in the Rukungiri district of Uganda and the impact on their education: a cross-sectional study
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INTRODUCTION: An increasing number of studies have found that girls in low-income settings miss or struggle at school during menstruation if they are unable to manage their menstrual hygiene effectively. This study explores the menstrual hygiene practices and knowledge of girls at rural government primary schools in the Rukungiri district in Uganda and assesses the extent to which poor menstrual hygiene management (MHM) affects their education. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was completed by schoolgirls in six government-run primary schools in the Rukungiri district. Focus groups were held with girls from each school and semi-structured interviews were conducted with headteachers and female teachers from the participating schools. A toilet assessment was also conducted in each school. RESULTS: One hundred and forty schoolgirls completed the questionnaire. The girls reported a lack of access to adequate resources, facilities and accurate information to manage their menstrual hygiene effectively at school. They reported that, as a result, during menstruation they often struggle at school or miss school. Eighty-six girls (61.7%) reported missing school each month for menstrual-related reasons (mean 1.64, range 0-10, SD. 1.84). CONCLUSION: It is common for girls who attend government-run primary schools in the Rukungiri district to miss school or struggle in lessons during menstruation because they do not have access to the resources, facilities, or information they need to manage for effective MHM. This is likely to have detrimental effects on their education and future prospects. A large-scale study is needed to explore the extent of this issue.
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Girls lacking knowledge and confidence to manage menstruation were reluctant to be around others.
“Girls lacking knowledge and confidence to manage menstruation were reluctant to be around others [3–5, 8, 39, 70, 75, 77, 89].”
From Women’s and girls’ experiences of menstruation in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2019) · cites this paper as [39]
Some studies linked social exclusion, restriction of travel, and infrastructure deficits to impacts on formal or informal employment.
“Some studies linked social exclusion, restriction of travel, and infrastructure deficits to impacts on formal or informal employment [39, 62, 63, 98].”
From Women’s and girls’ experiences of menstruation in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis (2019) · cites this paper as [39]
A similarly high rate of cloth use (87%) was recently reported in the Rukungiri district of Uganda.
“A similarly high rate of cloth use (87%) was recently reported in the Rukungiri district of Uganda.27”
From Measuring the prevalence and impact of poor menstrual hygiene management: A quantitative survey of schoolgirls in rural Uganda (2016) · cites this paper as [27]
One in ten school-aged girls in low and middle income countries fail to attend school during menstruation or drop out of school at puberty due to absence of MHM facilities.
“others suggest that one in ten school-aged girls in low and middle income countries fail to attend school during menstruation or drop out of school at puberty due to the absence of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) facilities [4–7].”
From Menstrual hygiene management in rural schools of Zambia: a descriptive study of knowledge, experiences and challenges faced by schoolgirls (2019) · cites this paper as [5]
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- Authors
- Boosey, R., Prestwich, G., & Deave, T.
- Affiliations
- University of Bristol (GB)
- University of the West of England (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Prestwich, Georgina
- ORCID
- Deave, Toity
- Venue
- Pan African Medical Journal
- Publisher
- Pan African Medical Journal
- Published
- 2014
- Volume
- 19
- Pages
- 253-253
- ISSN
- 1937-8688 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4382073
- OpenAlex
- W2123858422
- Cited by
- 122
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 2.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Pan African Medical Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Menstrual Health and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Keywords
- menstrual hygiene management, female students, school absenteeism, menstrual hygiene knowledge, school sanitation facilities, rural primary schools, Rukungiri District, women's education
- MeSH terms
- Absenteeism, Adolescent, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Hygiene, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Menstruation, Poverty, Surveys and Questionnaires, Rural Population, Schools, Students, Uganda, Focus Groups
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