Information is Empowerment: A Comparative Study of Reproductive Health Awareness and Presence of RTI Symptoms in Rural School and College Girls of Patiala

Reproductive health is of immense importance due to its implications on overall well-being of women. Inadequate information related to reproductive health (menstruation and RTI/STI’s) leads to several adverse consequences. The present study aims to assess the levels of reproductive health awareness and presence of RTI symptoms amongst rural school and college girls. Close ended questionnaire consisting of 57 items was designed to assess the BMI, physical activity, awareness related to menstruation, STI’s and RTI symptoms. The sample comprised of 320 girls, 160 each from school and college with mean age of 20 years. The present study revealed majority of young girls of rural area doesn’t have a normal BMI and are not driven towards any physical activity. t test was applied to study the significant difference between both the groups related to physical activity, and reproductive health awareness. Results revealed that school girls are physically inactive and less aware as compare to college girls.