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Perception on Menstrual Cup Usage Among Teens and Reproductive Age Group Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

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Abstract

Introduction

One of the challenges to menstrual hygiene management in resource-limited settings is limited access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene products. An alternative to the widely used sanitary pads is the menstrual cup, which has received less attention in low- and middle-income countries. This study was carried out to assess the perception on menstrual cup usage among teens and reproductive age group women assess attending a tertiary care institute in a rural setup in Andhra Pradesh.

Methodology

A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 164 teenage and reproductive age group women attending the Outpatient Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology with the help of a semi-structured, pretested and pre-piloted questionnaire to assess the perception of menstrual cup usage among the participants. Data were analyzed statistically using software, menstrual cup knowledge score was calculated based on data obtained from questionnaire.

Results

Most of the study participants (87.8%) were using sanitary pads during menstruation. Cloth was also used by some of the participants (11.59%). Only one participant (0.61%) was reported using menstrual cup. Majority of the participants [121 (73.7%)] reported that they had never heard of menstrual cup, whereas 43 [(26.3%)] study participants reported that they were aware of menstrual cup. Only 2(4.65%) out of 43 participants had a good knowledge on menstrual cup whose knowledge score was 12. Five (11.63%) out of 43 participants had got 0 score and remaining participants got the score between 0 and 12.

Conclusion

Most of the women were not aware of menstrual cup and even if they know about it, they do not have good knowledge about it. Awareness regarding menstrual cup should be promoted through media and awareness programs to reach everyone.

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Data Availability

All authors had access to the data and a role in writing this manuscript.

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Acknowledgements

Nil.

Funding

The study was approved for ICMR – STS project for the year 2022.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Sangaraju Sreeja

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, 522 503, India

    Kavitha Garikapati & Vijayan Sharmila

  3. Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh, India

    M. Yamini

Authors
  1. Sangaraju Sreeja
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  2. Kavitha Garikapati
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  3. Vijayan Sharmila
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  4. M. Yamini
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Contributions

SS was involved in data collection and drafting the manuscript, SS, KG, VS and M Y were involved in conception, literature search, analysis of data and drafting the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vijayan Sharmila.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Committee Approval

IEC No: AIIMS/MG/IEC/2022–23/185 dated 29th July 2022; informed written consent was obtained from all the study participants.

Ethical standards

The article is in accordance with the ethical principles that have their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki. The authors certify that the study was conducted in accordance with Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013 .

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Sangaraju Sreeja is a MBBS Student; Kavitha Garikapati is a Assistant Professor; Vijayan Sharmila is a Additional Professor; and M. Yamini is a Assistant Professor.

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Sreeja, S., Garikapati, K., Sharmila, V. et al. Perception on Menstrual Cup Usage Among Teens and Reproductive Age Group Women: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Obstet Gynecol India 73 (Suppl 1), 150–155 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-023-01825-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-023-01825-0

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