Development of a scale to evaluate negative menstrual attitudes among Nepalese women

Abstract

Background

Menstrual attitudes include negative and positive perceptions of menstruation and are associated with reproductive health, underscoring the importance of its evaluation in women. Given that social and cultural factors affect menstrual attitudes, developing evaluation methods specific to distinct societal cultures is necessary.

Methods

We developed a scale based on the menstrual attitude questionnaire, which is the most widely used measure of menstrual attitudes, to evaluate negative menstrual attitudes among Nepalese women in consideration of Nepalese cultural backgrounds and literacy. In total, 352 Nepalese women aged 20–45 years living in urban or suburban areas in Nepal were enrolled in the study. Participants were randomly divided into two groups using the permuted block method. Using the prototype, Group 1 (n = 176) was evaluated with an exploratory factor analysis to develop a reliable scale, and Group 2 (n = 176) was evaluated with a confirmatory factor analysis to confirm the structure of negative menstrual attitudes. Further, we preliminarily examined the relationship of negative menstrual attitudes with the frequency of traditional menstrual practices and intensity of menstrual pain, which are significant reproductive health issues in Nepal, in Group 2.

Results

We developed a 15-item, 3-factor scale to evaluate negative menstrual attitudes among Nepalese women using exploratory factor analysis. The first, second, and third factors were “Natural event” (α = 0.82), “Debilitating event” (α = 0.76), and “Bothersome event” (α = 0.69), respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that negative menstrual attitudes comprised a 3-factor structure. Participants who performed three traditional menstrual practices (“stay in their own house”, “go to public spaces”, and “contact with others generally”) demonstrated significantly higher scores for negative menstrual attitudes than did non-performers. Negative menstrual attitudes were positively correlated with the intensity of menstrual pain (r = 0.558).

Conclusions

This study is the first to evaluate menstrual attitudes and analyse its factor structure among Nepalese women. In the future, the relationship between accurately evaluated negative menstrual attitudes and reproductive health issues should be examined more comprehensively.