Effect of peer education on menstrual hygiene knowledge and practices among adolescent girls in secondary schools in Ilorin, Kwara State

Menstrual hygiene deals with the special healthcare needs and requirements of women during monthly menstrual cycle. This study assessed the effect of peer education on the knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in senior secondary schools in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria. The study was a quasi-experimental study. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge and practice of 200 girls each in study and control schools. Multistage sampling technique was used to select respondents from both the study and control schools. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16.0. Chi-square test of significance and ordinal logistic regressions were used in statistical analysis; and level of significance was pre-determined at p-value < 0.05 at confidence level of 95%. Following peer education intervention, the proportion of girls in the study schools with good knowledge of menstrual hygiene increased from 33.5% to 51.0%, while that of the control increased from 32% to 38.0% at the end of the study. The intra group difference was found to be statistically significant with p value <0.001. Those who practiced good menstrual hygiene post intervention also increased from 43.5% to 67.5% in the study schools and from 41.0% to 48.0% in the control schools at the end of the study. This was also found to be statistically significant with p value <0.001. This study showed that peer education is an effective tool in improving knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among adolescent school girls in Ilorin metropolis.Keywords: Adolescent, menstrual hygiene, knowledge, practice, peer educatio