The Influence of School Based Menstrual Hygiene Management Programs on School Attendance among Girls in Public Primary Schools in Kisumu West Sub-County, Kisumu County, Kenya

Most governments have prioritized Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) practices for safe schools. However, girls and women in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) still face significant challenges in managing their menstruation. This study examined the influence of school based MHM Programs on school attendance among girls in public Primary schools in Kisumu west sub-county, Kisumu County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the Sanitary Hardware theory. The study employed descriptive survey research design where both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Questionnaires were administered to a selected sample of 356 respondents drawn from a target population of 3233. The sample size was arrived at using the Yamane (1967) formula. The respondents consisted of class 6-8 girls, teachers, Head-Teachers, and MoE officials who were key informants for the study. The collected data was filtered, organized, coded and later analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 software. Analysis was done in form of descriptive and inferential statistics. From the findings, the F ratio is 111.855, which means that improvement due to fitting the model is much greater than the model inaccuracies (F (1, 336) = 111.855, p=0.001). This implies that Menstrual Hygiene Management school-based programs are useful predictor of school attendance. The researcher therefore recommends that schools should be able to ensure consistent availability of water for use by girls during menstruation. They should be empowered to involve themselves in making reusable pads to assist those who cannot afford disposable pads use locally available materials in menstrual management.