Menstrual disorder and its treatment seeking among adolescent girls in India: evidence from nationwide survey
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Praveen Kailash Chokhandre
,
Shrikanta R. Vatavati
Abstract
Background
Adolescents make up 18 % of India’s total population, with 116 million being girls. Most research has focused on menstrual health and hygiene practices, with limited studies on menstrual pain/disorder (MPD) among adolescent girls using micro-level data from specific regions of India.
Objectives
This study aims to investigate the prevalence of menstrual pain/distress, its treatment-seeking behavior, and its associated predictors among adolescent girls.
Methods
The study employed data from a cross-sectional study design and interviewed 6,715 adolescent girls from 16 major States of India.
Results
The prevalence of MPD among adolescent girls was 61.8 %. Of these, a higher proportion of girls reported severe abdominal/back pain (90 %), followed by severe distress/irritation (26 %) and heavy bleeding (21 %). Findings suggest that girls who were educated about menstrual health were more likely to identify MPD and seek its treatment. Regarding treatment seeking for MPD, surprisingly, only about 14.3 % of girls sought treatment from health personnel, while 61 percent did not seek treatment at all. Home remedies (57 %), medical shops (25 %), and frontline workers or primary health centers (20 %) were found to be the preferred source of treatment. The prevalence of MPD and its treatment-seeking varies significantly by socio-economic characteristics.
Conclusions
The findings underscore the importance of providing menstrual health education and raising awareness of early identification and treatment-seeking among adolescent girls. The Government of India’s efforts in initiating Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH) and Rashtriya Kishor Swasthaya Karyakram (RKSK) programs are noteworthy. Having sufficient and well-trained peer educators can accelerate the process of health education and generate demand for healthcare services.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge the contribution of all the participating PRCs who helped us in the data collection activity for their respective States. Authors also acknowledge the annonymous revievers for their critical input to the manuscript.
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Research ethics: Ethical approval was secured from the Institutional Ethics Committee at SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad (SDM/IEC/2022/383) dated 19th December, 2022.
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Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained along with the assent of the girls under 18 years and individual consent was obtained for girls aged 18+.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
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Conflict of interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.
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Research funding: This study was supported by the MoHFW, Govt. of India.
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Disclaimer: The opinions or views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the funders.
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© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Editorial
- Review
- Investigating various interventions to improve the quality of life of children and adolescents suffering from chronic diseases – a systematic review
- Original Articles
- A socio-ecological approach to understanding self-regulation among adolescents with developmental challenges and delays
- Social, academic, and emotional self-efficacies in adolescent girls and their determinants: a cross sectional study
- Psychiatric hospitalizations among adolescents during the pandemic in Italy: a retrospective study
- Reliability and validity of the Game Addiction Scale in Malaysian Adolescents
- Waist-height ratio highlights detrimental risk for olanzapine associated weight gain earlier than body mass index
- A cross-sectional study of satisfaction with life among 1st year students and doctors of a teaching hospital of the national capital region
- Menstrual disorder and its treatment seeking among adolescent girls in India: evidence from nationwide survey
- Reviewer Acknowledgment
- Reviewer acknowledgment
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Editorial
- Review
- Investigating various interventions to improve the quality of life of children and adolescents suffering from chronic diseases – a systematic review
- Original Articles
- A socio-ecological approach to understanding self-regulation among adolescents with developmental challenges and delays
- Social, academic, and emotional self-efficacies in adolescent girls and their determinants: a cross sectional study
- Psychiatric hospitalizations among adolescents during the pandemic in Italy: a retrospective study
- Reliability and validity of the Game Addiction Scale in Malaysian Adolescents
- Waist-height ratio highlights detrimental risk for olanzapine associated weight gain earlier than body mass index
- A cross-sectional study of satisfaction with life among 1st year students and doctors of a teaching hospital of the national capital region
- Menstrual disorder and its treatment seeking among adolescent girls in India: evidence from nationwide survey
- Reviewer Acknowledgment
- Reviewer acknowledgment
