The relationship between women’s awareness of menstrual cups, their menstrual attitudes, and their genital hygiene behaviors is emerging as an important research topic in the field of women’s health globally. This study examined the relationship between women’s awareness of menstrual cups as a sustainable menstrual hygiene product, their menstrual attitudes, and their genital hygiene behaviors. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 542 women recruited through proportional stratified sampling from Turkey’s seven geographical regions. Data were collected using the Personal Information Questionnaire, the Menstruation (Period) Symptom and Attitude Scale, and the Genital Hygiene Behavior Scale. Menstrual cup awareness was assessed through a single binary (yes/no) self-report question. The average age of participants was 27.97 (± 8.23). Of the participants, 78.8% stated that they had heard of menstrual cups before, which was considered an indicator of menstrual cup awareness in the study. Women who were unaware of menstrual cups showed higher menstrual perception scores, indicating that they perceived menstrual bleeding more positively as a natural process (mean = 34.40, p = 0.048). Conversely, women aware of menstrual cups demonstrated significantly higher scores on the menstrual discomfort and concealment dimensions, which reflects lower menstrual discomfort and concealment tendency (p < 0.001). They also showed superior genital hygiene behaviors, including better general hygiene habits (p = 0.048), menstrual hygiene practices (p = 0.038), and awareness of abnormal findings (p = 0.049). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that menstrual cup awareness was higher in younger age groups (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.98, p = 0.003), and that higher menstrual discomfort and concealment tendency scores (OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.02–1.16, p = 0.011) and increased awareness of abnormal findings (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.01–1.23, p = 0.030) were associated with increased menstrual cup awareness. This study revealed that women’s menstrual cup awareness was significantly associated with their menstrual attitudes and genital hygiene behaviors. Participants who were aware of menstrual cups tended to be younger. Additionally, unmarried participants and those with higher levels of education exhibited higher menstrual cup awareness. According to logistic regression analysis, menstrual cup awareness was found to decrease with age. It was determined that menstrual cup awareness increased as menstrual discomfort and concealment tendency scores and awareness of abnormal findings scores increased. Not applicable.
Kufacı et al. (Mon,) studied this question.