KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICES (KAP) OF MENSTRUAL HYGIENE AMONG THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER DUO OF THE NOCTES OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

Menstrual hygiene is one of the most important
aspects that girls and women need to take care of themselves.
However, knowledge passed down from one generation to the
next can shape the overall understanding of menstrual hygiene
management. This study attempts to understand and compare the
knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding menstrual hygiene
among mother-daughter pairs of the Nocte tribe of Arunachal
Pradesh. We employed a community-based cross-sectional study
among 130 individuals, i.e., 65 mother-daughter pairs. Data
on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding menstrual
hygiene among mothers and their daughters were collected from
different villages in Tirap district. Among the daughters, 76.92%
had knowledge that menstruation is a biological event, and only
55.38% of the mothers were aware of the biological phenomena
behind the process of menstruation. Among the daughters, 89.23%
and 84.61% of mothers had knowledge about menstruation before
they experienced menarche. The use of sanitary pads was 61.53%
among daughters and 27.69% among mothers. The use of both
cloth and sanitary pads was 43.07% among mothers and 38.46%
among daughters. Overall, the results show that daughters had
better knowledge of menstruation, and the knowledge transferred
from mother to daughter was evident. Mothers may have played
significant role in how the daughters learn about menstruation
even before their menarche. The generational gap regarding
knowledge, attitudes and practices was evident in the study.