Climate Anxiety, Environmental Sustainability, Health Behavior, Menstrual Product Choice
Conditions
Keywords
message framing, climate change anxiety, eco-anxiety, sustainable menstrual products, menstrual hygiene products, women's health, environmental sustainability
Brief summary
Background: Climate change is an increasing public health concern, with growing evidence linking climate change anxiety to health behaviors. Message framing (loss-framed, gain-framed, neutral) is a key strategy in behavioral medicine that may influence both emotional responses and environmentally related health behaviors, including menstrual product choices. Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effects of message framing strategies on women's climate change anxiety, attitudes toward environmental sustainability of menstrual products, and menstrual product preference tendencies. Keywords: Menstrual Hygiene Products, climate change, message framing, eco-anxiety, environmental sustainability, women's health
Interventions
BEHAVIORALGain-framed ecological message
A standardized text-based message emphasizing the benefits of reusable and sustainable menstrual products for environmental protection, individual health, and long-term economic savings. The message exposure lasted approximately 2-3 minutes.
BEHAVIORALLoss-framed ecological message
A standardized text-based message highlighting the environmental and health-related risks associated with disposable and plastic-containing menstrual products, including plastic waste, microplastics, carbon footprint, and ecological harm. The message exposure lasted approximately 2-3 minutes.
BEHAVIORALNeutral informational message
A standardized text-based neutral message describing disposable and reusable menstrual products, product materials, waste generation, accessibility, cost, comfort, and user-related factors without emotional gain or loss framing.
Sponsors
Ankara Medipol University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Masking description
Participants were not explicitly informed of their group assignment. Each participant was exposed only to the assigned text-based message condition through the online survey link.
Intervention model description
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three parallel groups: gain-framed ecological message, loss-framed ecological message, or neutral informational message. Each participant received only one text-based message condition, and outcomes were assessed immediately after message exposure in a single online survey session.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Women aged 18 to 45 years * Having regular menstrual cycles * Having sufficient proficiency in reading and understanding Turkish * Providing voluntary informed consent to participate
Exclusion criteria
* Women without a menstrual cycle * Menopausal women * Women with visual or cognitive impairments that prevent understanding the study messages * Participants who submitted incomplete survey forms
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Climate Change Anxiety Score | Immediately after message exposure, in the same online survey session | Climate change anxiety was measured using the Climate Change Anxiety Scale. The scale consists of 10 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 to 4. Total scores range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating higher levels of climate change anxiety. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Sustainability Attitude Toward Menstrual Products | Immediately after message exposure, in the same online survey session | Environmental sustainability attitude toward menstrual products was assessed using the Menstrual Product Preference and Environmental Sustainability Questionnaire. The total score ranges from 0 to 48, with higher scores indicating greater environmental sustainability orientation toward menstrual product use. |
| Environmental Awareness Score | Immediately after message exposure, in the same online survey session | Environmental awareness was assessed using the environmental awareness subdimension of the Menstrual Product Preference and Environmental Sustainability Questionnaire. Higher scores indicate greater awareness of the environmental impact of menstrual products. |
| Sustainable Menstrual Product Preference Score | Immediately after message exposure, in the same online survey session | Sustainable menstrual product preference was assessed using the product preference subdimension of the Menstrual Product Preference and Environmental Sustainability Questionnaire. Higher scores indicate stronger intention or tendency to choose environmentally sustainable menstrual products. |
| Accessibility and Information-Seeking Score | Immediately after message exposure, in the same online survey session | Accessibility and information-seeking were assessed using the accessibility and information-seeking subdimension of the Menstrual Product Preference and Environmental Sustainability Questionnaire. Higher scores indicate greater perceived access to sustainable menstrual products and greater willingness to seek information. |
Countries
Turkey (Türkiye)
Outcome results
None listed