A descriptive cross-sectional study on perceived barriers and facilitators regarding the use of menstrual cups among medical students in a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescence is the period between 10 and 19 years of life, and about one-fifth of the total female population in the world are in this age group who undergo the basic physiological phenomenon called menstruation. The issues related to menstruation are often neglected by family and community which affects the physical, mental and social functioning of the teenagers. By adopting sustainable menstrual hygienic practices, the major disorder of sexual and reproductive health. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of the usage of menstrual cups among medical students, to assess the knowledge and practice about menstrual cup and to determine the barriers and facilitators regarding the use of menstrual cup. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among the female medical students of Sri Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences, Puducherry. The study tool was a Google Form comprising the sociodemographic details of the study participants and the details regarding the usage of menstrual products, especially menstrual cups. This study followed the universal sampling method, and a total of 164 students responded. The responses were downloaded from Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results: Out of the total 164 study participants, 53% belonged to the age group of 18–22 years, 46% were in the age group of 23–27 years, and 1% were above the age of 27 years. Of these, 20% were 1st year, 16% were 2nd year, 21% were 3rd year, 29% were 4th year, and 14% were interns. The knowledge prevalence of menstrual cups was 78%. The prevalence of the usage of menstrual cups was 85%. Conclusion: Hence, much insight has to be tailored to the advancement in knowledge dissemination regarding sexual and reproductive health. The practice of safe, durable, and sustainable menstrual hygienic products such as menstrual cup has to be encouraged as they are cost effective and generate less waste. All menstruating women should be educated about menstrual cups and should be encouraged to use it.