Abstract:

Background: According to UNICEF (2022), stigma, poverty, and lack of access to basic amenities are some of the variables that can impair menstruation hygiene management. These issues are shown to be particularly severe in the poorest, as well as in individuals with disabilities,refugees, and ethnic groups. The majority of girls in the most recent analysis of UNICEF (2022), were not willing to take an interest in work, school and school exercises amid menstrual cycle i.e., 15% of young ladies in Burkina, 20% in ivory coast, 23% in Nigeria within the past 12 months, more than half of ladies in Bangladesh, more than two-thirds in Nepal, one in three in Chad and Central African Republic. A study conducted in Kenya, where one of the factors for poor MHM practices was religion and others included non -discussions, lack of sanitary pads, lack of latrine privacy and teasing by boys (Korir, Okwara, Okumbe, 2018). Purpose: The purpose of the proposed study is to determine menstrual hygiene management strategies and programs that are ongoing in primary schools and identify areas that need improvement to ensure good menstrual hygiene to promote health, safety, dignity and movement of girls in Kenya. Objectives: The main objective of the proposed study is to assess the factors influencing menstrual hygiene management among girls in primary schools in selected low-density and high-density residential areas in Nairobi-Kenya. Methods: The study used a mixed exploratory research using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. It used cross sectional-comparative research design and narrative research design. The study population included; the girls (in grades 5 to 8) and teachers (both malesand females) in primary schools in high-dense and low-dense areas. Stratified random sampling technique was used to sample 120 girls and 10 teachers and the sample size was calculated using the Cochran formula. The Data collection procedures included; structured questionnaires for the girls,interviews for the teachers and field notes from direct observations. Data analysis was done using excel and SPSS 27.0. Results: In both the schools, 70% and above of the girls follow good menstrual hygiene practices and had equal amount of knowledge on the menstrual hygiene management (i.e., 60%). More than 60% of the girls in the high dense school had difficulty accessing WASH facilities as compared to 40% in the low dense school. In addition to that, 51% girls in the low dense school believed that most of the MHM strategies were not implemented than the 19% girls in high dense school. 7 Conclusion: There was no statistical significance difference in both the schools in terms of menstrual hygiene management knowledge. Girls in both schools had about the same amount of knowledge on the different MHM products except the tampons and the menstrual cups. In addition, above 70% girls followed good menstrual hygiene practices. However, improper disposal of sanitary towels into the water bodies was noted with some of the girls in the high dense school. The high dense school also had more MHM strategies implemented than the less dense school. Both the schools had no policies regarding MHM. Recommendation: The schools need to educate the students on the different areas of menstrual hygiene management, with prime focus on the different menstrual products and how to properly dispose the sanitary material. They need to improve the WASH facilities and introduce programs that can help address MHM issues. Lastly, the society need to build a safe and protective environment for the girls to easily be able to talk about menstruation.