ABSTRACT
Background: Menarche is the most dramatic manifestation of puberty in girls; unlike the biometric developmental changes that occur at puberty, menarche requires the personal adjustment and response of an affected girl in order to attain good menstrual hygiene. This study was designed to evaluate how boarding secondary school girls manage their menstruation in school, away from the guidance of their parents.Methods: A cross sectional survey was performed in four public boarding secondary schools in the study area with the aid of structured questionnaires to evaluate how such girls manage their menstruation while in school.Results: The study population was 975 girls whose survey revealed the mean age at menarche of 12.5±1.4 years. Seven hundred and two (72.0%) respondents had received sexuality education before onset of menarche. Respondents who attained good menstrual hygiene were 775(79.5%). Such respondents were those who had received sexuality education (p<0.001) and those who had access to synthetic sanitary pad (p=0.005). Duration of the menstrual period and the volume of menstrual blood loss did not affect (p=0.219) the ability of respondents to attain good menstrual hygiene. Respondents who received sexuality education had about 605 chances of attaining good menstrual hygiene than those who did not receive such education.Conclusions: A vast majority of the respondents had received sexuality education before onset of menarche and a larger proportion attained good menstrual hygiene. Major factors that positively influenced the girls’ capacity to attained good menstrual hygiene were prior sexuality education and access to synthetic sanitary pad.
ABSTRACT
Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer globally, and in Nigeria the incidence of the disease has increased over the last two decades. Breast self-examination (BSE) is still the most important way of detecting the disease. Therefore, the study aimed at determining the level of knowledge and attitude of breast cancer and practice of BSE among female undergraduate students. Methods: This was a cross sectional study of 401 female students that were selected by cluster sampling technique, data was collected using self-administered questionnaires and analysis done using Stata Version 10. Results: The level of awareness of breast cancer and BSE was high among the respondents, 99% and 91.3 % respectively; but the knowledge of risk factors for breast cancer was poor. Breast lump was a well-known symptom of breast cancer. Just 20% of the respondents knew the correct time BSE should be done, and 4% had a good knowledge of BSE, the practice of BSE was poor, only 9% of them carried it out monthly; majority of the respondents (88%) said they will seek help immediately if they observed breast lump, and 80% were willing to know more about breast cancer. Seven percent of the respondents had previous history of lumps and 6% had first or second degree relation with breast cancer. Conclusions: There is a need for appropriate educational programme in order to improve knowledge of breast cancer and practice of BSE among the students for early detection and control of the disease.