Effects of menstrual health on pupils’ attendance in primary schools of Bulamagi subcounty, Iganga district, Uganda.
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Date
2024
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Busitema University
Abstract
The study was undertaken with the purpose of finding out the effects of menstrual health on pupils" attendance in Primary schools of Bulamagi Subcounty, Iganga district, Uganda. It was guided by the study objectives to; find out the state of female pupils" primary school attendance in schools, find out the available menstrual health facilities and measures in primary schools and establish the effects of menstrual health management practices on pupils" attendance. The targeted population here included the; head teachers, teachers of Primary Seven Senior Woman and Senior Man Teachers, as well as the Primary seven girls from the five selected schools. With a population of 309, research tools were issued to 209 respondents selected through the different probability sampling techniques. Out of the 209, 187 of the respondents giving a response rate of 89.5% which was adequate enough for the data to be analyzed. Data was collected from primary and secondary sources was sorted, organized in frequency tables and percentage’s objective by objective. After analyzing the collected data and its trends, it was concluded that girls in upper Primary were reaching their menarche without knowledge of what to do and this was forcing them to miss 2-3 days of school per month. It was also concluded that girls in schools with; separate clean, segregated toilet stances, changing rooms, enough water to use while at school during menstruation, and a reliable provision of emergency sanitary pads for use at, continued attending school. Finally, the researcher concluded that the availability of some MHM activities and facilities had enabled children to continue attending school whether in or out of their menstruation periods. It was established that; helpful female and male teachers as well as the male classmates(boys) in school enable the girls to continue coming to school during their menses. It was recommended that; girls aged ten year and above should be given relevant basic knowledge about menstruation so as to be equipped and empowered to manage this experience right from their menarche, schools should have basic facilities in place to enable effective Menstrual Health Management for a continued attendance of school by the girls across the month and that other members of the school community like the male classmates (boys), male teachers, female teachers and other workers in the school should be sensitized to offer a friendly and enabling environment to girls during their menstruation periods while continuing to attend school without; fear, intimidation and trauma with more termly funding. The study also recommended future studies on effects of menstruation and its management on the academic performance of as well as the effects of Menstruation and its management practices on the rate of the girl child’s Primary School completion.
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Kafuko, M. (2024). Effects of menstrual health on pupils’ attendance in primary schools of Bulamagi Subcounty, Iganga District, Uganda. [Research Report]. Busitema University.