Document Detail


Pubescent male students' attitudes towards menstruation in Taiwan: implications for reproductive health education and school nursing practice.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21457380     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Aim.  To explore male students' attitudes towards menstruation. Background.  Menstruation is a biological event that is often surrounded by secrecy and social stigma that causes anxiety amongst many young girls. A key element of this is the attitudes of young males towards this reproductive health issue. However, the literature around what young males think and feel about menstruation is limited. Design.  Qualitative. Methods.  A sample of 27 male students aged between 10-12 years participated in five focus groups. Data were then subject to a thematic analysis. Results.  Five themes emerged from the data analysis that reflected the boys' feelings, experiences and attitudes towards menstruation: 'A silent topic', 'An unimportant issue', 'Errant information about menstruation'. In addition, according to their experience, participants gradually came to see menstruation from the 'menstrual stereotype' viewpoint. In their social life, they made choices that resulted in gradually regulating their behaviour that affected their 'relationships with girls'. Conclusion.  Young boys have misguided knowledge about menstruation and this helps to perpetuate the stigma surrounding this element of reproductive health. Boys also express a desire to learn more but are often restricted in this by home and school. School nurses are the best placed professionals to address this issue. Relevance to clinical practice.  Menstrual education with boys should take a greater prominence than it often does in sexual health education in schools. Such inclusion will provide boys with a balanced and accurate knowledge base and therefore help towards reducing the social stigma around menstruation that is often experienced by young girls.
Authors:
Yu-Ting Chang; Mark Hayter; Mei-Ling Lin
Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE     Date:  2011-2-25
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of clinical nursing     Volume:  -     ISSN:  1365-2702     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2011 Feb 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-4-4     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9207302     Medline TA:  J Clin Nurs     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  -     Citation Subset:  -    
Copyright Information:
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Affiliation:
Authors: Yu-Ting Chang, RN, MSN, Instructor, Department of Nursing, Tzu Chi College of Technology, Hualien, Taiwan and Doctoral Student, Graduate Institute of Nursing, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Mark Hayter, PhD, RN, Reader in Nursing, Center for Health and Social Care Studies and Service Development, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, UK; Mei-Ling Lin, RN, MSN, Instructor, Department of Nursing, Tzu Chi College of Technology, Hualien, Taiwan.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Exploring young people's expectations and experiences of discussing sexual and relationship health w...
Next Document:  Mountain pine beetle host-range expansion threatens the boreal forest.