A Study to Assess the Knowledge Regarding Menstrual Cup Among Nursing Students in Selected Nursing College Mangaluru with A View to Provide an Information Booklet

Abstract

During menstruation, a menstrual cup is a tool that is placed into the vagina. Its objective is to gather menstrual content, which is a mixture of various fluids and blood from the uterine lining. Typically, flexible medical-grade silicone, latex, or a thermo plastic isomer is used to make menstrual cups. They have a ring or stem and resemble a bell. Insertion and removal are accomplished by the stem. Just below the cervix, the bell-shaped cup presses against the vaginal wall. The cup is taken out, emptied, rinsed, and put back in every 4–12 hours, depending on the flow rate. The cup needs to be cleaned after every period. Cups do not absorb menstrual fluid like tampons and pads do; instead, they collect it. A single cup can be used for up to ten years. Because of this, they are less expensive in the long run than disposable tampons or pads despite having a more significant initial cost. Additionally, menstrual cups are marketed as being more eco-friendly and useful than tampons and pads. Because the menstrual cup is reusable, using it significantly reduces the amount of trash produced by menstrual flow because there is no daily waste, and less packaging is thrown. This study aims to assess the level of knowledge on menstrual cup among nursing students at selected nursing college Mangaluru and to determine whether there was any correlation between knowledge of nursing students on menstrual cup and certain demographic factors. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The sample compressed of 60 nursing students selected using simple random sampling technique. The purpose of the study was explained to the sample, and informed consent was taken. Demographic proforma and structured knowledge questionnaire was administered to 60 BSc nursing students, the data was analysed by both descriptive and inferential statistics and information booklet was given. The majority of the sample 71.6% has average knowledge, 28.3% have poor knowledge and no one has good or excellent knowledge about menstrual cup. There is no significant association of knowledge score with age (????2=9.95), religion (????2=5.35), monthly family income (????2=4.2), total number of children in the family (????2= 3.8), birth order (????2=10.27), menstrual disorder (????2=0), previous information(????2=0.09) at 0.05 levels (p<0.05). The study concludes that the majority of nursing students had average knowledge of menstrual cups.