Table 2 Experience of changing and cleaning absorbents compared between those using reusable pads and existing improvised methods
Reusable pad N = 72 | Existing improvised methods N = 111 | OR (95%CI) (Existing method OR = 1.00) | Existing improvised methods (disaggregated) | Sanitary pad N = 18 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Cloth N = 30 | Old Cloth N = 62 | Other N = 19 | |||||
%(N) | %(N) | %(N) | %(N) | %(N) | %(N) | ||
How many minutes does it take for you to change your sanitary protection? (n = 178) | |||||||
Minutes M (SD) | 6.36 (11.75) | 10.85 (13.96) | d = 0.35 (0.04–0.64) | 9.17 (13.94) | 11.46 (14.54) | 11.61 (12.43) | 10.44 (12.27) |
0–4 min | 69.6 (48) | 49.5 (54) | 2.24 (1.19–4.23) | 53.3 (16) | 50.8 (31) | 44.4 (8) | 44.4 (8) |
5+ minutes | 30.4 (21) | 50.5 (55) | 1.00 | 46.7 (14) | 49.2 (30) | 55.6 (10) | 55.6 (10) |
Are you able to go to school for a full day without changing your protection? (n = 180) | |||||||
No, never | 70.8 (51) | 50.9 (55) | 1.00 | 53.3 (16) | 49.2 (30) | 52.9 (9) | 61.1 (11) |
Yes, on some days | 13.9 (10) | 23.2 (25) | 0.43 (0.23–0.80) | 16.7 (5) | 31.2 (19) | 5.9 (1) | 11.1 (2) |
Yes, always | 15.3 (11) | 25.9 (28) | 30.0 (9) | 19.7 (12) | 41.2 (7) | 27.8 (5) | |
How much of a problem is it to change your sanitary protection at school? (n = 140)a | |||||||
Not a problem at all | 41.0 (25) | 7.6 (6) | 8.44 (3.18–22.43) | 14.3 (3) | 4.2 (2) | 10.0 (1) | 38.5 (5) |
A little bit of a problem | 29.5 (18) | 32.9 (26) | 1.00 | 38.1 (8) | 31.3 (15) | 30.0 (3) | 46.2 (6) |
A big problem | 29.5 (18) | 59.5 (47) | 47.6 (10) | 64.6 (31) | 60.0 (6) | 15.4 (2) | |
Did you feel disgusted by washing the absorbent? (n = 154)b | |||||||
Yes | 22.5 (16) | 48.2 (40) | 1.00 | 65.4 (17) | 40.4 (23) | ||
No | 77.5 (55) | 51.8 (43) | 3.20 (1.58–6.46) | 34.6 (9) | 59.7 (34) | ||
How long did it take the absorbent to dry completely? (n = 151)b | |||||||
2 h or less | 26.1 (18) | 48.8 (40) | 1.00 | 50.0 (13) | 48.2 (27) | ||
3–4 h | 30.4 (21) | 29.3 (24) | 23.1 (6) | 32.1 (18) | |||
5–6 h | 26.6 (17) | 11.0 (9) | 2.74 (1.35–5.55) | 11.5 (3) | 10.8 (6) | ||
7 h + | 18.8 (13) | 11.0 (9) | 15.4 (4) | 8.9 (5) | |||
How often did you wear the absorbent damp? (n = 154)b | |||||||
Never | 85.9 (61) | 69.9 (58) | 2.63 (1.16–5.95) | 61.5 (16) | 73.7 (42) | ||
Sometimes | 6.9 (5) | 6.0 (5) | 1.00 | 11.5 (3) | 3.5 (2) | ||
Usually | 6.9 (5) | 24.1 (20) | 26.9 (7) | 22.8 (13) | |||