Hansen Ashleigh, Bayes Jessica, Schloss Janet
Faculty of Health, National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.
Health Equity. 2025 Aug 14;9(1):357-374. doi: 10.1177/24731242251363080. eCollection 2025.
Reproductive health, including menstrual health, is a critical element of the overall well-being of women. Knowledge of menstrual health increases personal empowerment and self-care. This review explores adult women's knowledge of menstrual and reproductive health.
A systematic literature review was conducted across ProQuest, PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, and AMED, targeting original, peer-reviewed articles published between 2013 and 2023. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2020 guidelines, 649 articles were screened. Eighteen cross-sectional studies met the inclusion criteria after critical appraisal using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for analytical cross-sectional studies.
Mean percentages of overall correct knowledge were provided in a limited number of studies, with scores ranging between 35.6% and 57.3%. In this review, mean values were calculated to represent categorical analysis of adult women's correct knowledge of ovulation, menstruation, and female physiology. The following values represent women's correct knowledge of these factors: timing of ovulation (43.7%), definition of ovulation (75.3%), identify physical signs of ovulation (52.4%), definition of menstruation (92.8%), identify menstrual cycle length (58.9%), identify duration of menstruation (44.6%), identify physical changes that might occur 2 weeks prior to menstruation (76.8%), identify female reproductive anatomy (68.9%), identify the term reproductive "hormones" (37%); identify the hormone estrogen (30.4%), identify the hormone progesterone (24%), correct knowledge of reproductive functional biology (51.2%), and correct knowledge of factors affecting reproductive health (62.8%).
Adult women's knowledge of reproductive and menstrual health remains lower than expected due to various personal, cultural, and social factors. Developing educational and health promotion interventions is crucial to improving women's reproductive knowledge globally.
生殖健康，包括月经健康，是女性整体健康的关键要素。月经健康知识能增强个人自主权和自我保健能力。本综述探讨成年女性对月经和生殖健康的了解情况。
在ProQuest、PubMed、MEDLINE、Scopus、CINAHL和AMED数据库中进行了系统的文献综述，目标是2013年至2023年发表的原创、同行评审文章。按照《系统评价与Meta分析方案的首选报告项目2020》指南，筛选了649篇文章。使用乔安娜·布里格斯研究所分析性横断面研究清单进行严格评估后，18项横断面研究符合纳入标准。
少数研究提供了总体正确知识的平均百分比，得分在35.6%至57.3%之间。在本综述中，计算了平均值以代表成年女性对排卵、月经和女性生理的正确知识的分类分析。以下数值代表女性对这些因素的正确知识：排卵时间（43.7%）、排卵定义（75.3%）、识别排卵的身体迹象（52.4%）、月经定义（92.8%）、识别月经周期长度（58.9%）、识别月经持续时间（44.6%）、识别月经前两周可能出现的身体变化（76.8%）、识别女性生殖解剖结构（6,8.9%）、识别生殖“激素”一词（37%）；识别雌激素（30.4%）、识别孕激素（24%）、生殖功能生物学的正确知识（51.2%）以及影响生殖健康因素的正确知识（6,2.8%）。
由于各种个人、文化和社会因素，成年女性对生殖和月经健康的了解仍低于预期。开展教育和健康促进干预措施对于在全球范围内提高女性的生殖知识至关重要。
