A Research Study about the Expectations from Sanitary Napkins, Current Problems and Design of a Functional Sanitary Napkin

Kadın pedleri, kadınların menstrual sıvı ve atıklarını hijyenik bir şekilde toplamak için kullandıkları teknik tekstil ürünleri olarak tanımlanabilir. Kadın pedleri birbirinden farklı birçok özelliği aynı anda karşılamak zorunda olduğundan farklı katmanlar içeren özel bir yapıya sahiptir. Bu çalışmada Türkiye’nin farklı bölgelerinden toplam 500 kadına, kadın pedleri hakkında detaylı bir anket uygulanmıştır. Anketin ilk bölümlerinde; kadınların pedlerden beklentileri, pedin performans özelliği ile ilgili algıları ve mevcut pedlerde yaşadıkları problemler irdelenmiştir. Buna ek olarak, ilave bir fonksiyon içeren bir kadın pedinin tasarımında kullanılabilecek bilgiler edinilmiştir. Ayrıca, sektöre bilgi sağlamak üzere, kadınların mevcut durumdaki ped tercihleri, ped kullanım alışkanlıkları ve promosyonlar ile ilgili bilgiler sorgulanmış ve çalışma kapsamında değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. Sonuç olarak kadınların kullanım performansı açısından bir pedden en büyük beklentilerinin; sıvıyı emme ile ilgili olan absorpsiyon, sızdırmazlık ve kuruluk hissinin yanı sıra kötü koku oluşumunu engelleme ve yumuşak üst yüzey olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Kadınların mevcut pedlerinde yaşadıkları en büyük problemlerin ise sık değiştirme ihtiyacı, sızdırma ve ıslaklık hissi olduğu belirlenmiştir. Kadınların pedlerinde en fazla istedikleri fonksiyonel özellik olarak ise antibakteriyellik ön plana çıkmıştır. Anket sonuçlarına göre, kadınların pedlerinden beklentileri, ped seçme kriterleri ve problemleri açısından yaşa bağlı istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklar elde edilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Kadın pedi, Anket, Beklentiler, Problemler, Fonksiyonel Kadın Pedi

A Research Study about the Expectations from Sanitary Napkins, Current Problems and Design of a Functional Sanitary Napkin

Sanitary napkins are technical textile products those are used by women during menstruation to collect menstrual fluids hygienically. Sanitary napkins are layered structures, as they have to fulfill different end-use properties at the same time. In this study, a detailed survey was conducted to 500 women living in different regions of Turkey. In the first parts of the survey, the expectations from sanitary napkins, perception of sanitary napkin performance characteristics and the problems in current sanitary napkins were questioned. In addition, some information to design a novel/functional sanitary napkin was collected. Also, to provide information to the companies in the sector, current preferences on sanitary napkins, usage habits and effects of product promotions were analyzed. Consequently, it was determined that women focused on odourless and soft surfaced sanitary napkins in addition to the absorption properties such as leak-proofing and dryness. The most frequent problems in current pads were leakage, odour and the need of frequent changes. In parallel, the most desired functional property of a new sanitary napkin was antibacterial activity. There were some statistically significant differences between the expectations, sanitary napkin selection factors and problems of the women depending on the age ranges.

Keywords:

Sanitary napkin, Survey, Expectations, Problems, Functional Sanitary Napkin,

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