Mentor/s
Dr. Eileen Yost and Dr. Michelle Cole
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Authors: Molly Barker, Alicia Buynovsky, Stefanie Falcone, Julia Gonfiantini, Allison Johnston, and Meghan Liquindoli, Sacred Heart University College of Nursing
Abstract: Background: Menstrual hygiene management is an essential component of health and wellness in women and adolescent girls between menarche and menopause. Through research and community assessments, it is evident that in the indigenous populations of rural Guatemala, there is a lack of sexual education during the adolescent years. Community assessment: Young girls in Guatemala lack the knowledge and resources they need to safely care for and understand their bodies. The phases of puberty, safe sex education, reproduction, and menstrual hygiene are crucial topics to understand and learn as a young girl going through the growth and development process. Unfortunately, these topics are often overlooked. Another challenge with regards to menstrual health is that the girls were often missing school when they were menstruating.Purpose: The purpose of this aggregate project is to educate young females about menstrual hygiene and management, female anatomy, reproduction, and to explore why the young females in rural Guatemala do not attend school classes during their cycle.Methods: In collaboration with Days for Girls International, students from the College of Nursing at Sacred Heart University implemented a public health project to educate girls in Guatemala about the phases of puberty, the reproductive system, safe sex practices, and the menstrual cycle. In collaboration with Days for Girls International, this project allowed us to demonstrate the use of and distribute menstruation kits to the girls in the community. These kits give girls the means of capturing their menstrual flow and the ability to attend school during their cycle. To facilitate this discussion and education in Guatemala, we created a cloth poster on MakeSigns.com composed of pictures found on DaysForGirls.org as well as Google.com. IDC Missions arranged for Sacred Heart University senior nursing students to present this information to a class in Santa Maria de Jesus. Results:Utilizing the poster, senior nursing students were able to successfully educate the girls in the classroom about menstrual hygiene management, female anatomy, and pregnancy.
Discussion/Conclusion: With this education and their Days for Girls kit, the school age girls will be able to attend school during their menstrual cycle, which they were not able to do before. In addition, with the knowledge about reproduction, girls will have an understanding about how to avoid pregnancy until they are ready to start a family and grasp the concept of the reproductive cycle.In conclusion, it was evident that there was a need to teach young girls about their anatomy and the female reproductive system. They were eager to learn and expressed gratitude for their kits. The nursing students and advisors are confident that this project will continue to be implemented in the future medical mission trips to Guatemala.
College and Major available
Nursing BSN
Location
University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-20-2018 1:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-20-2018 3:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Prize Categories
Best Multidisciplinary Research or Collaboration, Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Most Meaningful
Educating Indigenous Populations in Rural Guatamala about Menstrual Hygiene Management in Collaboration with Days For Girls International
University Commons
Authors: Molly Barker, Alicia Buynovsky, Stefanie Falcone, Julia Gonfiantini, Allison Johnston, and Meghan Liquindoli, Sacred Heart University College of Nursing
Abstract: Background: Menstrual hygiene management is an essential component of health and wellness in women and adolescent girls between menarche and menopause. Through research and community assessments, it is evident that in the indigenous populations of rural Guatemala, there is a lack of sexual education during the adolescent years. Community assessment: Young girls in Guatemala lack the knowledge and resources they need to safely care for and understand their bodies. The phases of puberty, safe sex education, reproduction, and menstrual hygiene are crucial topics to understand and learn as a young girl going through the growth and development process. Unfortunately, these topics are often overlooked. Another challenge with regards to menstrual health is that the girls were often missing school when they were menstruating.Purpose: The purpose of this aggregate project is to educate young females about menstrual hygiene and management, female anatomy, reproduction, and to explore why the young females in rural Guatemala do not attend school classes during their cycle.Methods: In collaboration with Days for Girls International, students from the College of Nursing at Sacred Heart University implemented a public health project to educate girls in Guatemala about the phases of puberty, the reproductive system, safe sex practices, and the menstrual cycle. In collaboration with Days for Girls International, this project allowed us to demonstrate the use of and distribute menstruation kits to the girls in the community. These kits give girls the means of capturing their menstrual flow and the ability to attend school during their cycle. To facilitate this discussion and education in Guatemala, we created a cloth poster on MakeSigns.com composed of pictures found on DaysForGirls.org as well as Google.com. IDC Missions arranged for Sacred Heart University senior nursing students to present this information to a class in Santa Maria de Jesus. Results:Utilizing the poster, senior nursing students were able to successfully educate the girls in the classroom about menstrual hygiene management, female anatomy, and pregnancy.
Discussion/Conclusion: With this education and their Days for Girls kit, the school age girls will be able to attend school during their menstrual cycle, which they were not able to do before. In addition, with the knowledge about reproduction, girls will have an understanding about how to avoid pregnancy until they are ready to start a family and grasp the concept of the reproductive cycle.In conclusion, it was evident that there was a need to teach young girls about their anatomy and the female reproductive system. They were eager to learn and expressed gratitude for their kits. The nursing students and advisors are confident that this project will continue to be implemented in the future medical mission trips to Guatemala.
Students' Information
Honorable mention in the 2018 Academic Festival award category College of Nursing Dean's Prize.
First prize winner of the 2018 Academic Festival Campus Choice award.