Study on Effectiveness of Computer assisted instruction over the usage of Menstrual cup among Select College Students

 

G.L. Abisha Bel¹, R. Bright²

¹Department of Paediatrics, P.S. College of Nursing, Thalakkulam, Tamilnadu, India.

²Department of Microbiology, Thasiah College of Nursing, Marthandam, Tamilnadu, India.

 

ABSTRACT:

Menstrual cup have been available for decades, but it could not attains its popularity among women because of its bulky design and the need for multiple sizes. But in recent times it became one of the important topics to be discussed, because of its health benefits for the user as well as its eco-friendly nature.  The study is aimed to assess the feasibility of usage of menstrual cup by new users, who have been using other means of conventional menstrual sanitary protection such as sanitary pads, tampons and cloths. A pre-experimental study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of computer assisted instruction on use of menstrual cup among select students from P.S College of nursing of Kanniyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Totally 30 participants, those who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected by convenient sampling technique. A pretest was conducted by using a structured questionnaire, followed by computer assisted instruction. After 7 days post test was taken. The result of the post test score revealed that the computer assisted instruction had its impact on improving the level of knowledge regarding usage of menstrual cup among college students, the overall mean score of pretest was 5.9 with a S.D of 3.8, whereas in post test the overall mean score was 18 with S.D of 1.5.The t-test value was -1.00 which statistically significant at p<005 level of significance. After computer assisted instruction, it was found that all the students were acquired knowledge of menstrual cup, 16.7% of them had moderate knowledge and 83.3% of them showed adequate knowledge. The score of the study have been found to be statistically significant (p=0.001) and the study implies that the education has a vital role in improving the knowledge of college students regarding usage of menstrual cup. The changes brought among students could be transferred to their families and disseminated in to the community in a wide extent.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

In India about 24% of total population is in adolescent stage. This is a vital age group because they are in a threshold between childhood and adult hood. As a natural rule when they cross this threshold they undergo different physiological, psychological and developmental changes. In general physical changes occur during puberty through which body get transformed from child into adult in means of body size and body proportions.

 

Puberty is a phase of human life cycle which brings rapid physical growth and psychological changes culminating in sexual maturity. The onset of puberty may vary with sex to sex and individual to individual. But in average puberty occurs at 11 among girls and 12 in boys. Onset of puberty may be influenced by heredity, environmental factors, diet and exercise and these factors can contribute to precocious or delayed puberty.

 

Menstruation is normal vaginal bleeding that occurs as part of a woman's monthly cycle. It is a physiological process and in developing countries like India it is linked to many religious traditions and taboos. These traditions can impose different restrictions over women at home and in the community during their menstrual period. It is still common for menstruating women to remain isolated at home during the menstrual period. Some of them do not wash their bodies, shower or bathe. In some communities, they are not allowed to use water sources during menstruation as considered unclean. This persistent discomfort with the reality of menstruation is aptly called the culture of concealment by Karen Houppert ¹.

 

In the developing and under developed countries management of menstrual hygiene is not only a difficult task but also it may have serious adverse effects on the lives of women. Sometimes the taboos may not be a constraint, but availability of convenient or inexpensive menstrual collection materials ^{2, 3}. Due to lack of availability of inexpensive menstrual hygienic products, women use cloths, absorbent pads or tampons to manage menstrual flow.

 

Keeping the cloths hygienically though washing or disposing the pads hygienically is a challenge for most of the females. In such circumstances women opt to the use of rags, which must be reused, but washing them may be limited by lack of water or the privacy needed to wash and reuse pads, resulting in forced use of damp or even wet contaminated rags. This can lead to development of various genital associated ailments including pelvic infections. The burden of reproductive tract infections (RTI) is a major public health concern worldwide and RTI are particularly widespread in low income settings ^{4, 5}.

 

Menstrual hygiene management practices can be unhygienic and inconvenient, particularly in resource-constrained settings, with poor wash access and have been found to be associated with different reproductive tract infections such as bacteial vaginitis, vulvo-vaginal candidiasis and psychosocial stress outcomes ^{6, 7}.

 

Menstrual cup is a reusable device for menstrual flow management and is claimed to be a healthy and environment friendly than that of conventional menstrual sanitary products. Moreover they are more economical than disposable ones. As it is made of silicone is absolutely inert and smooth thereby almost nullifying the problems like infections, allergies, rashes and excoriations. Since it is worn internally it eliminates the foul odour and feeling of wetness. It can also be worn for long hours because of its capacity and the ability to adapt to the body completely. Menstrual cup can be sterilized before use and thus is most hygienic and safe menstrual sanitary protection. It is a reusable device which can last through the menstrual life-cycle of a woman if used carefully. There are a few clinical studies proving the actual benefits of menstrual cups and thus there is a lot to be proven and confirmed (8, 9). Hence it leaves a scope for study to evaluate the menstrual cup as an alternative vis-a-vis conventional menstrual sanitary protections in terms of adaptability and efficacy for the user.

 

OBJECTIVE:

To assess the effectiveness of computer assisted instruction on usage of menstrual cup among college students.

To compare the pretest and post test knowledge about the usage of menstrual cup.

To find out the association between knowledge with the selected demographic variables.

 

Hypothesis:

H1: There will be a significant difference in the pre test and post test knowledge scores of college students regarding usage of menstrual cup.

H2: There will be a significant association between the post test knowledge scores of college students on the usage of menstrual cup.

 

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Evaluation was done with quasi experimental of pre and post-test design. Total of 30 students were sampled by using convenient sampling technique. Structured questionnaire schedule was used to assess the knowledge of the students. The structured teaching programme was given on the same day for one hour with the help of computer. The post test was conducted on the 7^th day of teaching programme.

 

The finding of the study

Table1. Comparison of pre and post test level of knowledge

S. No	Category	Pre-Test		Post-Test
		Number	%	Number	%
1	Adequate	0	0	25	83.3
2	Moderate	13	43.3	5	16.7
3	Inadequate	17	56.7	0	0

 

Figure1. Comparison of pre and post test knowledge of college students

Bar diagram shows the percentage of knowledge acquired by the students on application of menstrual cup over pre and post teaching programme. It shows that, in pre- test around 57% of the students were not had adequate knowledge on application of menstrual cup and 43 % of them had moderate knowledge. None of them had adequate knowledge on it. The post test results reveal that 83% students had adequate knowledge in application of menstrual cup and 17 % had moderate knowledge. It was found that all the students were able to understand the concept of application of menstrual cup after the presentation.

 

Table 2

Variable	Mean		Standard Deviation		‘t’ test	Table Value
Knowledge	Pre test	Post test	Pre test	Post test	-1.00	2.05
	5.9	18	3.8	1.5

 

Mean score of knowledge level of students included in this study regarding the usage of menstrual cup and its benefits are shown in the table 2. It represents both pretest and post test values, and it was found to be 5.9 and 18 respectively. The ‘t’ value obtained is -1, this value is significant of 0.05 level from the mean score. From this it is clear that the subject acquired more knowledge on menstrual cup usage after the structured teaching programme and it supports the research hypothesis (H1).

 

Chi score analysis revealed that there is no significant association between the pre and post- test knowledge with their demographic variables such as age, sex, religion and type of family. There was a significant association between acquiring knowledge and area of residence by a level of 0.05.

 

CONCLUSION:

Findings of this study strongly suggest that, structured teaching programme is an effective tool in imparting knowledge among students on menstrual cup usage.

 

REFERENCES:

1.      Houppert K. 1999. The curse—Confronting the last unmentionable taboo: Menstruation. New York: Farrar Straus and Giraux.

2.      Rajanbir Kaur, Kanwaljit Kaur, Rajinder Kaur, 2018."Menstrual Hygiene, Management, and Waste Disposal: Practices and Challenges Faced by Girls/Women of Developing countries", Journal of Environmental and Public Health, vol 2018.

3.      Kuhlmann A.S., Henry K and Wall L.L. 2017.  Menstrual Hygiene Management in Resource-Poor Countries. Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey; 72(6): 356-376.

4.      Wasserheit J.N., Harris J.R., Chakraborty J., Kay B.A and Mason K.J. 1989. Reproductive tract infections in a family planning population in rural Bangladesh. Studies in Family Planning; 20: 69–80.

5.      Bhatti L.I and Fikree F.F. 2002. Health-seeking behavior of Karachi women with reproductive tract infections. Social Science and Medicine 54: 105–117.

6.      Sumpter C and Torondel B. A. 2013. systematic review of the health and social effects of menstrual hygiene management. PLoS One.8:e62004.

7.      Hulland K.R, Chase R.P, Caruso B.A, Swain R, Biswal B, Sahoo K.C, Panigrahi P and Dreibelbis R. 2015. Sanitation, stress, and life stage: a systematic data collection study among women in Odisha, India. PLoS One. 10(11):e0141883.

8.      Pokhrel, D., Bhattarai, S and Emgård, M. 2021. Acceptability and feasibility of using vaginal menstrual cups among schoolgirls in rural Nepal: a qualitative pilot study. Reproductive Health. 18, 20.

9.      Kakani, C and Bhatt J. 2017. Study of adaptability and efficacy of menstrual cup in managing menstrual health and hygiene. International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology. 6. 3045.

 

Received on 16.03.2022         Modified on 04.04.2022

Accepted on 15.04.2022       ©A&V Publications All right reserved