A review of menstrual health and its promotion in adolescent girls

A review of menstrual health and its promotion in adolescent girls
Saba Kalantari,^1,* Hanieh Hasankhani,² Maryam puryaghoob,³
1. BSc in Nursing, Member of the Research Committee of Abhar School of Nursing and Emergency Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
2. BSc in Nursing, Member of the Research Committee of Abhar School of Nursing and Emergency Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
3. Master of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty Member of Abhar School of Nursing and Emergency Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Introduction: One of the most important periods of life is adolescence and puberty. Adolescence as the second decade of life is associated with severe physical, sexual and psychosocial changes. Menstrual health and self care are important aspects of adolescent health that determine health status and adherence to hygiene practices in adulthood. The aim of this study was to identify menstrual health ways to improve it.
Methods: This study is a review study that was conducted in 1399. The data of this study using the keywords, Menstrual health, Health promotion, juvenile at Google scholar, SID, Magiran databases were collected and analyzed
Results: Lack of knowledge of adolescent girls about the mechanisms of puberty and menstruation causes physical, psychological and behavioral problems in them. Lack of menstrual hygiene and improper self-care practices are complications of this age group and factors such as lack of proper knowledge about menstrual health lead to incorrect functions during this period. Awareness of menstrual health is influenced by various factors such as cultural and religious beliefs, parents education level, parents' job, place of residence, etc. Also awareness of the characteristics of this period directly affects the type of health performance of girls. Studies show that adolescent girls gain more information about menstruation and health performance during this period than their parents, especially mothers, and to a lesser extent from the content of magazines and books, But in some cases, cultural and religious beliefs prevent the exchange of information about menstruation and menstrual health between adolescents and parents.
Conclusion: Observing proper menstrual hygiene requires knowledge about its principles and According to sources such as parents and school educators from whom adolescent girls obtain major menstrual information; Educate them about menstrual hygiene and refer to it as a natural event away from incorrect cultural and religious beliefs and also direct education is offered to adolescents through appropriate educational methods such as media, social networks and publications.
Keywords: Menstrual health, Health promotion, Adolescent.