Reviewer ’s report  
 
Title: Knowledge and practice of adolescent females abou t menstruation and menstruation 
hygiene visiting a public healthcare institute of Quetta, Pakistan  
 
Version: 1 Date: 25 Jul 2019  
 
Reviewer: Reviewer 2  
 
Reviewer's report:  
 
PEER REVIEWER ASSESSMENTS:  
 
OBJECTIVE - Full research articles: is there a clear objective that addresses a testable research 
question(s) (brief or other article types: is there a clear objective)?  
Yes - there is a clear objective  
 
 
DESIGN - Is the current approach (including controls and analysis protocols) appropriate for the 
objective?  
Yes - the approach is appropriate  
 
 
EXECUTION - Are the experiments and analyse s performed with technical rigor to allow 
confidence in the results?  
Yes - experiments and analyses were performed appropriately  
 
 
STATISTICS - Is the use of statistics in the manuscript appropriate?  
Yes - appropriate statistical analyses have been used in the study  
 
 
INTERPRETATION - Is the current interpretation/discussion of the results reasonable and not 
overstated?  
No - there are major issues  
 
 
OVERALL MANUSCRIPT POTENTIAL - Is the current version of this work technically 
sound? If not, can revisions be m ade to make the work technically sound?  
Maybe - with major revisions  
 
PEER REVIEWER COMMENTS:  
 
GENERAL COMMENTS:  
This is a well conducted and well powered study of menstruation knowledge and attitudes in 
Pakistan. It is impressive that the authors got su ch a large sample and this makes a contribution 
to the literature.  
 
 
REQUESTED REVISIONS:  
This paper talks, in the discussion, about how the results compare with other similar studies. This 
paper needs some of that data added to the background to allow the reader to make sense of it. 
The comparators with other countries does not need to be leng thy, but should speak to the 
similarities and differences they go on to discuss. It would be helpful if they gave more 
contextual data about the setting. Currently, this is not adequate. Finally, adding the actual 
questionnaire as an appendix would be help ful.  
 
 
ADDITIONAL REQUESTS/SUGGESTIONS:  
The use of English throughout is unacceptable. It is in need of some careful editing if it is to be 
ok for publication.  
 
 
 
Are the methods appropriate and well des cribed?  
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Does the work include the necessary controls?  
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.  
 
Yes 
 
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?  
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.  
 
No 
 
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manus cript or would you recommend an 
additional statistical review?  
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please speci fy what aspects require further 
assessment in your comments to the editors.  
 
I am able to assess the statistics  
 
Quality of written English  
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscr ipt: 
 
Needs some language corrections before being published  
Declaration of competing interests  
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following questions:  
 
1. Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, f ees, funding, or salary from an 
organisation that may  in any way gain or lose financial ly from the publication of this 
manuscript, either now or in the future?  
 
2. Do you hold any stocks or shares in an organisation t hat may in any way gain or lose 
financially from the publication of this manuscript, either n ow or in the future?  
 
3. Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents  relating to the content of the 
manuscript?  
 
4. Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an organization that 
holds or has applied for patents relating t o the content of the manuscript?  
 
5. Do you have any other financial competing interests?  
 
6. Do you have any non -financial competing interests in relation to this paper?  
 
If you can answer no to all of the above, write 'I declare that I have no competing int erests' 
below. If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.  
 
This reviewer has been recruited by a partner organization, Research Square. Reviewers with 
declared or apparent competing interests are not utilized for these reviews. This reviewer has 
agreed to publication of their comments online under a Creative Commons Attribution License 
attributed to Research Square and was paid a small honorarium for comp leting the review within 
a specified timeframe. Honoraria for reviews such as this are paid regardless of the reviewer 
recommendation.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal. I understan d that my name will be included 
on my report to the authors and, if the ma nuscript is accepted f or publication, my named report 
including any attachments I upload will be posted on the websit e along with the authors' 
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to the editor s, which will not be published.  
 
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal