IJCM₃82A: Awareness regarding use of menstrual cups among female college students in Mangalore

Background: Menstruation is a normal body function requiring proper menstrual hygiene products. There are many products available for management of mensuration among which one of the most undervalued products is the menstrual cup. Despite all of the many sustainable advantages it offers, the use of menstrual cup is limited to not even 10 percent of menstruating women Objective: 1. To assess the knowledge of usage of menstrual cups amongst female non-medical students. 2. To evaluate the willingness to use menstrual cups amongst female non-medical students Methodology: The study was conducted in non-health science colleges of Mangalore. The participants were undergraduate female students. Non-random convenient sampling was used and the study was conducted in March 2022. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was created using Google Forms. Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) approval and permission from college authorities was obtained prior to commencement of study. Results: Majority of students had heard about a menstrual cup (92.1%) but 87.7% of the participants used sanitary pads and only 4.6% used menstrual cups. After obtaining knowledge from the study, 45% of the participants agreed to use a menstrual cup if available and 46.9% would recommend it to their family and friends. Menstrual cup knowledge was found to be significantly correlated with study course (p=0.043) and current sanitary product use (p=0.001). Conclusion: The main concerns regarding menstrual cups among participants were limited knowledge, discomfort, and limited availability. Many participants had no idea about menstruation cups and it’s functioning and method to dispose of them.