The Impact of Menstrual Cup Distribution on College Student Attitudes about Menstruation: An Exploratory Data Science Approach
Open Access
- Author:
- Strait, Jessica
- Area of Honors:
- Data Sciences
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Arpan Shailesh Yagnik, Thesis Supervisor
John Yen, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- data science
menstrual health
menstruation
period stigma
menstrual hygiene
machine learning
predictive analytics
menstrual cups
statistics - Abstract:
- The stigma associated with menstruation presents a barrier to period product access, menstrual health care, and full participation in school, work, faith-based activities, and community while menstruating. Social and academic success for menstruators has been linked not only to sufficient and safe menstrual health practices, but also to attitude and knowledge about menstruation. The CampusCup program, implemented by personal care company AllMatters, creates peer-to-peer and institutionally supported liaisons for free menstrual cup distribution and education on college campuses. This thesis seeks to use a data science approach to explore the social impact of the CampusCup program on attitudes about menstruation among college students by analyzing differences between students who participate in CampusCup and those who do not. The thesis finds a statistically significant difference in attitudes about menstruation among individuals who participated in the CampusCup program and those who do not use menstrual cups; however, a more powerful significant difference exists between individuals who use menstrual cups obtained by any means and those who do not. This thesis finds that regardless of motivating incident to begin using menstrual cups, students who use menstrual cups have generally greater knowledge and more positive attitudes about menstruation than those who do not. Individuals who use menstrual cups also express a high affinity for the product and willingness to recommend the product to others. This thesis finds that in addition to menstrual cup usage either independently or through CampusCup, functionality appreciation, knowledge about menstrual health, and perceived university support for menstruators are all significant factors in the prediction of attitudes about menstruation.