Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Nov 19, 2023; 13(11): 958-966
Published online Nov 19, 2023. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i11.958
Effectiveness of menstruation hygiene skills training for adolescents with autism
Meltem Kaydırak, Büşra Yılmaz, Merve Azak, Çiğdem Bilge
Meltem Kaydırak, Büşra Yılmaz, Department of Women Health and Gynecologic Nursing, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Istanbul 34381, Türkiye
Merve Azak, Department of Pediatric Nursing, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Istanbul 34381, Türkiye
Çiğdem Bilge, Department of Obstetrics and Women's Health Nursing, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Muğla 48000, Türkiye
Author contributions: Kaydırak M, Yılmaz B, Azak M, and Bilge Ç contributed to study design; Kaydırak M, Yılmaz B, Azak M, and Bilge Ç contributed to data collection; Yılmaz B contributed to data analysis; Kaydırak M contributed to study supervision; Kaydırak M, Yılmaz B, Azak M, and Bilge Ç contributed to manuscript writing; Kaydırak M, Yılmaz B, Azak M, and Bilge Ç contributed to critical revisions for important intellectual content; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by The Semahat Arsel Nursing Education, Practice and Research Center, Türkiye No. 2022.2.
Institutional review board statement: Approval was obtained from the Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Health Sciences Ethics Committee for the study (Protocol No. 200179/Decision No. 6). Permission was obtained from the special education centers where the research was conducted. The aim and method of the study were explained and informed to the individuals responsible for the adolescent’s care, parents, and special education center staff. The purpose of the study, how the study would be carried out, that they could quickly leave the study whenever they wanted, and that the information received would be kept confidential was explained to the individuals responsible for the adolescent’s care. The study was conducted in accordance with the Principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Informed consent statement: Written and verbal consent was obtained.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Merve Azak, MSc, PhD, RN, BSN, Research Assistant, Department of Pediatric Nursing, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Abide-i Hurriyet St., Istanbul 34381, Türkiye. merve.azak@iuc.edu.tr
Received: June 7, 2023
Peer-review started: June 7, 2023
First decision: July 19, 2023
Revised: July 27, 2023
Accepted: August 7, 2023
Article in press: August 7, 2023
Published online: November 19, 2023
Processing time: 162 Days and 21.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may encounter many difficulties with their menstrual cycles. Potential challenges that adolescents with ASD may face include understanding physical changes, coping with symptoms, emotional sensitivity, communication, personal care, and hygiene.

AIM

To evaluate the effect of menstrual hygiene skills training given to adolescents with ASD on their menstrual hygiene skills.

METHODS

The study was conducted with 15 adolescents diagnosed with ASD by the single group pre-test and post-test model in three special education centers in Türkiye. Data were collected with the Adolescent and Parent Information Form and the Adolescent-Specific Menstrual Hygiene Skill Registration Form.

RESULTS

While the mean age of adolescents was 16.06 ± 0.88 years, the mean age of individuals responsible for adolescent care was 43.66 ± 5.56 years. While 60.0% of the adolescents noticed the onset of bleeding before training, this rate was 93.3% after training. The Adolescent-Specific Menstrual Hygiene Skill Registration Form showed a statistically significant increase in the application steps after the training. The difference between the menstrual hygiene skill scores of adolescents diagnosed with ASD before and after training was significant.

CONCLUSION

The menstrual hygiene skills training given to adolescents with ASD was beneficial in increasing their menstrual hygiene skills. These individuals must take responsibility during menstruation and independently manage their continuous care activities.

Keywords: Autism; Adolescent; Menstruation; Hygiene; Training

Core Tip: Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may encounter many difficulties with their menstrual cycles. This study with 15 adolescents diagnosed with ASD by the single group pre-test and post-test model in three special education centers in Türkiye aimed to evaluate the effect of menstrual hygiene skills training given to adolescents with ASD on their menstrual hygiene skills. The menstrual hygiene skills training given to adolescents with ASD was beneficial in increasing their menstrual hygiene skills. These individuals must take responsibility during menstruation and independently manage their continuous care activities.