INTRODUCTION:

The ability to reproduce or to grow a life-form inside human body makes women eminent among its species, but the process is not as simple as it seems. Complications causes women to have altered hormonal balance and infertility and a major cause for the infertility now a days is PCOS. PCOS as the name indicates is a group of sign and symptoms which when combined with an appropriate cause becomes a disease. Acne, obesity, excessive hair growth, and irregular or non-existent menstrual cycles are the hallmarks of polycystic ovary syndrome. It is estimated that 5–10% of women in their reproductive years' experience with PCOS.¹

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is recognized as the most widespread hormonal disorder impacting the reproductive health of women globally. First identified by Stein and Leventhal in 1935, the condition affects approximately 5% to 15% of women, depending on the diagnostic criteria applied. Commonly accepted clinical guidelines state that a diagnosis can be made when at least two of the following three signs are present: irregular ovulation, elevated levels of androgens (either clinically or biochemically), and the presence of multiple cysts on the ovaries. Since PCOS shares symptoms with several other conditions, such as thyroid disorders, elevated prolactin levels, and non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia, these must be excluded before confirming the diagnosis. In some cases, a more detailed medical assessment is required based on the individual’s symptoms. Depending on the clinical findings, some patients may require a more thorough workup.²

Although PCOS affects a large number of women, it often goes undiagnosed. Many individuals consult several healthcare providers and may wait over a year before receiving a conclusive diagnosis. This delay can be distressing and discouraging for patients. Furthermore, the postponement in identifying the condition can lead to the worsening of associated health issues, making it harder to implement lifestyle modifications. These lifestyle changes play a crucial role in managing PCOS symptoms and enhancing the overall well-being of those affected.³

NEED FOR STUDY:

A sizable portion of young adults struggle with PCOS because it typically manifests in childhood. In 5-10% of reproductive age, this frequent endocrine condition with uncertain aetiology occurs. Between 18 and 45 years old is the average age range of PCOS sufferers. The youth should be educated about this illness' early symptoms, as well as its causes and potential long-term effects. One in five Indian women, or around 22.5% of women, suffer with PCOS today. The prevalence of PCOS is rising in India for a variety of reasons. According to data from 2021, PCOS affects one in five Indian women. In addition, because of their poor lifestyle choices, metropolitan adolescents and women are more likely to acquire PCOS. ⁴Women’s insufficient understanding, negative attitudes, and failure to adopt healthier lifestyle practices are key factors influencing the development and persistence of PCOS^.
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According to studies, approximately 80% of adolescent with PCOS are overweight or obese. It is still unclear what causes PCOS specifically. But other elements, including as genetics, insulin resistance, and inflammation, have been linked to the emergence of PCOS in young adult. All of these elements raise testosterone levels, which interfere with the ovaries' ability to function correctly.⁵

METHODOLOGY:

The present study adopted a quantitative research approach to investigate the knowledge and perception among nursing students. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was used to gather data at a specific point in time. The study was conducted in a selected nursing colleges in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), with the target population comprising nursing students. The sample consisted of 200 nursing students from a selected college in the Delhi/NCR region. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was employed to select the participants. The dependent variables of the study were the knowledge and perception among nursing students. For data collection, demographic variable, self-structured knowledge and perception questionnaire were used as the primary tool.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATION:

The Institutional Ethics Committee examined and approved the current study protocol. The data were blinded for personal information during the analysis of the data to maintain confidentiality.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

Table No.1 Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Nursing Students to Describe Demographic Data N=200

Demographic variable

Frequency(f)

Percentage (%)

I.Age (in Years)

1.18

2.19

3.20

4.Above 20

38.6%

11.4%

22.5%

27%

II. Religion

1.Hindu

2.Muslim

3.Christian

4.Others

154

77%

1.5%

III. Education of parents

1.No formal education

2.Undergraduate

3.Post-graduate

23%

47.0%

30%

IV. Family history of PCOS

1.Yes

2.No

190

95%

V. Area Of Living

1.Rural

2.Urban

3.Semi urban

158

11%

79%

10%

VI. Dietary Pattern

1.Vegetarian

2.Non- vegetarian

3.Mixed

103

32%

16.5%

51.5%

VII. Previous Sources of Information Regarding PCOS

1.Yes

2.No

104

52%

48%

VIII. Sources Of Information

1.Family and friends

2.Mass media

3.Healthcare professionals

27%

34%

39%

The above table depicts that a majority 38.6% of nursing students were in the age group of 18 years, 77% belongs to Hindu religion, 95% of nursing students have no family history of PCOS, considering the dietary pattern majority 51.5% have mixed diet, larger part of samples i.e.79% belongs to Urban areas, and 52% nursing students have previous information about PCOS, health care professionals are the major source of information i.e. 39% for nursing students.

Table No.2: Frequency, Percentage, mean and standard deviation on knowledge regarding PCOS N=200

Knowledge Score	Score	Frequency	Percentage	Mean	Standard Deviation
Poor	0-8	7	3.50%	18.04	5.07
Average	09-17	119	59.5%
Good	18-26	74	37%

The above table shows that 3.50% of nursing students had poor knowledge, 59.5% had average knowledge, and 37% had good knowledge. The mean score for the knowledge was 18.04 and standard deviation was 5.07.

Table No.3: Frequency, Percentage, mean and standard deviation on perception regarding PCOS N=200

Perception score	Score	Frequency	Percentage	Mean	Standard deviation
Negative perception	1-20	24	12%	38.9	13.9
Neutral perception	41-60	107	50.5%
Positive perception	21-40	69	34.5%

The above table shows that only 12% of nursing students had negative perception on PCOS, 50.5% had neutral perception whereas 34.5% had positive perception. The mean score was 38.9 and standard deviation was 13.9.

Table No:4: Correlation Between Knowledge score and Perception score N=200

Level of Correlation

Mean

Standard deviation

Knowledge score

18.04

5.07

1.00

Perception score

38.9

13.9

*at 0.05 level of significance, df (199) = 0.13

The mean knowledge score was 18.04 + 5.07 and the perception score was 38.9 + 13.9, The correlation coefficient was r = 1.00* which indicates that there was a perfect positive co-relation between knowledge score and perception score.

Association between knowledge score and perception score with demographic variables

The association between the knowledge score and perception score with demographic variables of nursing students was more than the value of p i.e. (p>0.05) which indicates no association between the knowledge score of nursing students with demographic variable at a 0.05 level of significance. So, the null hypothesis was accepted and the research hypothesis was rejected.

DISCUSSION:

This is a ground-breaking study that was recently conducted; it is aimed towards nursing professionals in India and is therefore innovative in many ways, which reduces the amount of studies that have been published for use as references on this subject that are available to the general public⁴.

In the current study, In the current study, 95% of nursing students have no family history of PCOS, 51.5% have mixed diet, and 52% nursing students have previous information about PCOS, health care professionals are the major source of information i.e. 39% for nursing students. 3.50% of nursing students had poor knowledge, 59.5% had average knowledge, and 37% had good knowledge and only 12% of nursing students had negative perception on PCOS, 50.5% had neutral perception This is in line with other studies conducted in SGT university who were assessed to have 78% students having poor knowledge and 22% having average knowledge regarding polycystic ovarian syndrome.⁷

A cross-sectional study was conducted on adolescent girls' attitudes and knowledge of polycystic ovarian syndrome in a few higher secondary schools in Trivandrum with the goal of creating a self-instructional module.⁶In the current study majority 38.6% of nursing students are in the age group of 18 years, majority of samples, 52% nursing students have previous information about PCOS, mass media is the major source of information i.e. 39% for nursing students.

However, the findings of a comparable survey revealed that just 11.67 percent of adolescent females have information that is reasonably adequate, while 88.33 percent have insufficient comprehension of PCOS. Additionally, no one has a positive attitude towards PCOS, which is represented by 25% of the samples who have a negative attitude towards it and 75% of the samples who have a neutral attitude towards it ⁶.

A study conducted at a nursing institute in East Sikkim found that nursing students had limited awareness about PCOS. The majority were unfamiliar with its definition, causes, and prevention strategies. Even students diagnosed with PCOS showed poor lifestyle practices, such as lack of weight control and unhealthy eating habits. These findings emphasize the need for targeted education on PCOS within nursing programs to improve awareness and promote healthier behaviors among future healthcare professionals ⁸.

A research study conducted to evaluate the impact of an educational program on PCOS awareness among late adolescent girls in Nagpur. The results indicated a notable improvement in knowledge levels following the intervention, with a majority of participants achieving high scores. These findings support the present study’s observation that structured teaching efforts can effectively increase awareness and understanding of PCOS among young female students. ¹⁶

Another supported research carried out to assess effectiveness of planned teaching programme among nursing students on knowledge on PCOS. The study revealed that 46% of participants had insufficient information, 50% had intermediate awareness, and 4% had adequate understanding of polycystic ovarian syndrome before the exam. 10% had insufficient knowledge, 62% had intermediate knowledge, and 28% had appropriate knowledge on the post-test following the planned teaching program.¹⁸

Additional research endorsed with the results 96.3% of the 300 adolescent’s girl were unaware of PCOS. The prevalence rate of PCOS was found to be around 12.3% overall, with 10.3% of girls at high risk and 23.3% of girls at low risk for PCOS development.¹⁹

In this study, the majority of students have gained knowledge regarding PCOS from health care professionals while others were gathered from self- study. In the current study there was no significant association between knowledge score and selected demographic variable like age, gender, education, religion, education of parents, family history of PCOS, area of living, dietary pattern, previous sources of information regarding PCOS. The correlation coefficient was r = 1.00* which indicates that there is a perfect positive co-relation between level of knowledge and level of perception.

In accordance with another study finding, there was a positive association (p-value 0.001) between the total knowledge and total attitude scores about polycystic ovarian syndrome. overall knowledge and overall attitude scores for polycystic ovarian syndrome were positively correlated. This could be because the adolescents are more likely to adopt a positive outlook when they have access to accurate and enough information.⁹

Another study carried out to assess the impact of STP on the level of knowledge regarding polycystic ovarian syndrome. 38.4% of the 60 samples had average knowledge, while 61.6% had low knowledge. In contrast, none of them had low knowledge on the post-test, with 51.6% having high knowledge and 48.4% having average knowledge. The "t" value, which was14.15. Therefore, it can be said that the STP was successful in raising teenage girls' awareness of PCOS.¹⁰

A study revealed that video-assisted teaching significantly improved both awareness and attitude regarding PCOS among adolescent girls. The experimental group showed a highly significant increase in post-test scores, indicating the effectiveness of structured visual teaching tools in enhancing understanding and encouraging early management of PCOS.¹⁴

Another study found that a planned teaching program led to a marked improvement in PCOD knowledge among adolescent girls. Post-intervention, over 83% of the participants showed adequate knowledge, emphasizing the impact of educational initiatives in promoting PCOS awareness at an early age.¹⁵

On contrary a study revealed that there was significant association of pre-test knowledge score with demographic variables like source of information.¹⁷

Different research conducted on nursing students showed that a highly significant difference (t-65.0 p < 0.001 two tailed) between the mean pretest (X1=9.30) & post-test (X2=13.62) knowledge score related to knowledge of core and selected variables, including age, dietary pattern, family type, religion, prior source of knowledge, family income, and residence area, demonstrated the high quality of the knowledge gained through the self-instructional module.²⁰

LIMITATIONS AND STRENGHTS:

The study was limited as sampling was taken from a single private college hence may not be fully representative of the status of knowledge and attitude on the ground. Further, this was a private college and nursing students in Government nursing college were untapped. Additionally, the limitations posed by the purposive sampling applies here i.e. is the sample representative of the larger universe of nursing students.

NURSING IMPLICATIONS:

Nursing Practice:

Nurses' lack of knowledge is a major barrier that has to be addressed by academia and practitioners alike. The fundamentals will be covered at the university level provided this subject is given specific, focused attention within the programme. Additionally, through in-service training, practitioners must regularly update their knowledge. The knowledge of student’s regarding polycystic ovarian syndrome remains a challenge for nursing practice in the current situation. Detecting knowledge early has a positive impact on lowering polycystic ovarian syndrome. The findings of this study indicate that students have somewhat acceptable understanding of polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Nursing Education:

The current healthcare system places a greater emphasis on preventative measures than on curative ones. To influence the public nursing curriculum, cooperative efforts such as the creation of pamphlets or information booklets should be undertaken.

Nursing Research:

Nursing student’s attitudes and understanding of polycystic ovarian syndrome contribute to increases in professional knowledge, which allows for the conduct of additional research.

Nursing Administration:

More nursing students can receive information on polycystic ovarian syndrome from field-based healthcare professionals.

CONCLUSION:

In the present study, 3.50% of nursing students were having poor knowledge, 59.5% were having average knowledge, and 37% were having good knowledge. And, only 12% of nursing students had negative perception on PCOS, 50.5% had neutral perception whereas 34.5% had positive perception. The correlation coefficient was r = 1.00* which indicates that there was a perfect positive co-relation between knowledge score and perception score. PCOS is a common endocrine disorder with prevalence ranging 2.2 to 26 percentage among 18-45 years of age in India.¹¹ Twenty to thirty percent of women of reproductive age suffer with PCOS.¹³This draw attention to sensitize the community by adopting various teaching strategies which will help them to connect, participate and add excitement to upgrade their knowledge and perception scores towards early diagnosis and prevention of Polycystic Ovary Syndromes.

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Received on 14.05.2025 Revised on 16.07.2025

Accepted on 20.08.2025 Published on 23.02.2026

Available online from February 25, 2026

Int. J. Nursing Education and Research. 2026;14(1):31-35.

DOI: 10.52711/2454-2660.2026.00006

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