• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.401-407
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• 2023

This study is a descriptive study to identify the patterns of use of menstrual sanitary products among community women of childbearing age. The participants were 1,571 women between the ages of 19 and 40, and data collection was conducted through online and mobile surveys from September 2020 to August 2021. As a result, 88.9% of the participants were using disposable menstrual pad, 5.6% tampons, 3.1% cloth menstrual pad, and followed by others(2.4%), including menstrual cups. The differences of type of menstrual sanitary products according to general characteristics showed significant in age(p=.006), marital status(p=.005), education level(p=.002), annual salary(p=.018), experience of pregnancy(p=.036), and menstrual regularity(p=.022). More than half of the participants(53.8%) responded that cloth menstrual pads were 'very safe' or 'safe,' but 27.9% and 20.1% of disposable menstrual pads and tampons, respectively. The difference in menstrual distress according to the type of menstrual sanitary products showed that tampon users had a higher menstrual discomfort score for the most recent menstruation(F=4.092, p=.017) and 4 days before menstruation(F=4.178, p=.016) than users of disposable menstrual pad or cloth menstrual pad. Therefore, it is necessary to continuously investigate the use of menstrual sanitary products by women of childbearing age and its relationship with reproductive health.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.265-275
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of use of menstrual hygiene products and genital organ hygiene management in unmarried women. Methods: Data from 161 unmarried women were used for analysis. The instruments consisted of self-reported questionnaires that included 40 items: 20 on General Characteristics & Sexual Health Related Characteristics, 8 on Using Status of Menstrual Hygiene Products, 12 on Genital Organ Hygiene Management. Results: The subjects used disposable sanitary napkin as the most frequently but the satisfaction was low, while the use of reusable sanitary napkin and tampons were few, but satisfaction was high. Sixty-seven percent of the unmarried women had sex experience, and more than 60% experienced abnormal symptoms in the genital organ. There was a significant difference in genital organ hygiene management according to sex experience. Among subjects of this study, 44.1% wanted to use menstrual cup, and 98.8% wanted to have education for their menstrual hygiene products. Conclusion: Based on results of this study, a nationwide survey of the demand for menstrual hygiene products used by Korean women is needed, it is necessary to educate about the proper use of menstrual hygiene products and genital organ hygiene management.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 2014

The sterilization of health care products is widely used to choose conventional Ethylene Oxide gas sterilization in South Korea. But the method has brought serious issues because of the toxic residual gas and global warming of $CO_2$ evacuation after the sterilization process. This study is carried out to confirm the application possibility of gamma sterilization instead of Ethylene Oxide in sanitary aid products. Four kinds of products (gauze, menstrual pad, bandage, menstrual tampon) were treated with gamma irradiation of 15 kGy, then analyzed the achievement of the sterility assurance level (SAL) $10^{-6}$ through BI test. The cytotoxicity of accelerated samples of 6 months elapse evaluated by means of colony forming rate at various concentration of the extracts. pH and UV measurements at extract concentrations were tested according to the MFDS (Ministry of food & drug safety) guideline to verify a stability & safety of product sterilized. The results revealed that the extracts did not show any significant changes in cytoxicity assay as well as pH and UV values by gamma sterilization. All extract concentration was observed high cell viability, pH and UV values were calculated within the acceptable range prescribed by the guideline. It indicates that gamma sterilization could effectively substitute for conventional sterilization such as Ethylene Oxide sterilization in the sanitary aid products.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.104-119
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• 2021

Purpose: Safety concerns regarding the use of disposable sanitary pads have emerged as a social issue in Korea, and some have advocated alternatives to alleviate these concerns. However, menstrual cups are rarely viewed as an option because of the sociocultural climate. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Korean women that use menstrual cups. Methods: Hermeneutic phenomenology as suggested by Van Manen was utilized for the study. Fourteen women, who had been using menstrual cups, were recruited and asked to participated in face-to-face interviews. Interview data were transcribed and coded by lifeworld existentials. Results: Four fundamental themes were emerged from the data: adaption to menstrual cups, body's various responses towards the menstrual cups, the menstrual cups being unwelcomed in Korean society, and our various perspectives towards menstrual cups. Conclusion: We could observe not only the positive experiences in terms of using menstrual cups but also the various difficulties and challenges of using those menstrual cups in Korean society. We hope that the findings could be used as the evidence for developing health education contents and policies to promote women's health.