Abstract

Ambika Banjara*, Sabita Sharma, Basanta Thapa, Ajita Sharma and Saraswati Baral

ABSTRACT

Background: Menstrual cup is reusable cup shaped device made of latex andsilicone (biodegradable materials), which is placed inside vagina that collectsmenstrual flows in lieu of absorbents pads. Since they are reusable and potentiallylast up to 10 years, they reduce solid waste and are environmental friendly. Thisstudy aims to assess the knowledge and attitude regarding menstrual cup among themedical students at medical college, Chitwan, Nepal. Methods: A cross- sectionalstudy was adopted and 105 medical students at Chitwan Medical College. Nonprobability,using total enumerative sampling technique. Data were collected from2nd January 2023 to 3rd February 2023 by using self administered structuredquestionnaire. Ethical approval was obtained from Chitwan Medical CollegeInstitutional Review Board (CMC-IRC). Obtained data were analyzed usingdescriptive and inferential statistics. Association between the variables weremeasured by using chi-square test. Results: The study revealed that more than half(55.2%) of respondents had good knowledge, 34.3% of respondents had averageknowledge and 10.5% of respondents had poor knowledge regarding menstrual cupwhereas most (93.3%) respondents had positive attitude and 6.7% of respondentshad neutral attitude towards menstrual cup. Among 105 respondents only 9.5%were using menstrual cup for menstrual hygiene management. Level of knowledgeregarding menstrual cup was statistically significant with previous experience ofusing menstrual cup ((p=0.002). Conclusion: More than half of medical studentshave good knowledge and majority of respondents had positive attitude regardingmenstrual cup but it?s usage is still limited. There is a gap between willingness touse and the actual use of menstrual cup. So, there is a need to raise awarenessprograms by academic area regarding menstrual cup to promote its usability.