Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Menstrual Cup among Females in an Urban Setting of South Kerala

Gayathri Mallika  Sudevan Devan; Gayathri Mohanan; Gowri Krishna Ajitha; Haripriya  Kavitha; Ijaz Majeed; Anjana Nalinakumari  Kesavan Nair

doi:10.18502/jfrh.v16i4.11354

Gayathri Mallika Sudevan Devan Sree Uthradom Thirunal Academy of Medical Sciences, Vencode, Kerala, India
Gayathri Mohanan Sree Uthradom Thirunal Academy of Medical Sciences, Vencode, Kerala, India
Gowri Krishna Ajitha Sree Uthradom Thirunal Academy of Medical Sciences, Vencode, Kerala, India
Haripriya Kavitha Sree Uthradom Thirunal Academy of Medical Sciences, Vencode, Kerala, India
Ijaz Majeed Sree Uthradom Thirunal Academy of Medical Sciences, Vencode, Kerala, India
Anjana Nalinakumari Kesavan Nair Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jfrh.v16i4.11354

Keywords: Menstrual Cup; Knowledge; Attitude; Practices; Kerala

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding menstrual cups use and the factors associated with it among females of the reproductive age group in an urban setting of South Kerala.

Materials and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from December 2021 to January 2022 among females of the reproductive age group. Data was entered in MS Excel and was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26.0. The significance of association was tested using the Chi-square test. Binary logistic regression was done to predict the factors associated with knowledge levels regarding menstrual cup.

Results: The mean age of study participants was 25.68(SD 6.64) years. Lack of knowledge (22.6%) and fear of insertion (56.2%) were the major reasons for not trying a menstrual cup. Out of the 350 study participants, 258(73.7%) had good knowledge scores and 92(26.3%) had poor knowledge scores. Discomfort and leakage were the most important problems reported by participants. A statistically significant association was found between younger age, educational status, socioeconomic, status, marital status of females in the reproductive age group, and knowledge about the menstrual cup.

Conclusion: Most of the participants (93.4%) were aware of menstrual cups. Even though two third of the participants had good knowledge regarding menstrual cups, only 15.1% have tried to use a menstrual cup. Fear of insertion was the most common concern for not trying a menstrual cup. Discomfort and leakage were the most important problems reported by participants. Younger age and higher educational qualifications were found to be independently associated with knowledge levels regarding menstrual cups.