Action for improved menstrual hygiene management

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9 years 7 months ago #36 by lwilson

The response was posted by Helga on 03/04/2013.

Tanya, your work on this subject is very interesting, and your contribution to this discussion is very welcome. I do not have any expertise on this matter and I have actually not been aware of the magnitude of this issue until recently. As we know, cultural, social and economic context play important roles in any endeavour to make change. Sanitation facilities of course are important for the MHM and still many rural communities and also poor urban areas do not have these facilities. Further, I think you are right about a micro level focus on females. However, unless education is translated into health literacy which enables girls to act on their knowledge, progress is hard. Also, people who have decision making power on different levels, be it state, community or household, need to be included in order for girls to gain a healthy MHM. Although country and society specific conditions exist for this issue, I think it is possible to say something general about the challenges we face in all kinds of attitudinal or cultural change. Change in attitudes and practices take time, but that is only a stronger reason to get started. The question about HOW to intervene in each specific country/context is still important, and here the cultural sensitivity is paramount. I would be interested in reading more on this topic both from an international policy level and more country specific studies.


Lianne Wilson

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9 years 7 months ago #37 by lwilson

The response was posted by Emma Miles on 05/06/2013.

Occasions like these should be done annually to help the women understand this certain health issue. I may have to say that the government should support and sponsor these kinds of events so that more women will be aware of this issue.


Lianne Wilson

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9 years 7 months ago #38 by lwilson

The response was posted by Shirley Demar on 07/06/2013.

There are countries that still rely on cultural background about menstruation. I hope more countries would get the idea that this improved menstrual hygiene should be followed at all times because this affects a woman's health.


Lianne Wilson

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9 years 7 months ago #39 by lwilson

The response was posted by Sri Adivi on 12/07/2013.

Tanya, as Helga mentioned your work is interesting and it is true menstruation related issues rely on cultural and traditional beliefs.
There are some initiatives on behalf of government in developing countries but it is still considered a 'taboo' to discuss this issue even among women.

Health professionals have to take initiative through open discussions by inviting women to share their opinions on the issue amongst themselves and men. Precisely what was experimented in our project and it was a success. An important factor to be discussed is a feasible, affordable and environmental-friendly sanitary product. More such discussions can open avenues in the aspect of public health


Lianne Wilson

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9 years 7 months ago #40 by lwilson

The response was posted by Tanya Santina on 24/01/2014.

Dear Colleagues, it is always a pleasure to benefit from your page to advance research on menstrual hygiene.
Sri Adivi, apart from taboos, sociocultural environment and beliefs that prevent better menstrual hygiene in developing countries (in particular), there are three major gaps that we, as health promoters, must deal with.
The first is the lack of consensus on the definition of “menstrual hygiene.” This expression is used “so often for so many reasons by all kinds of people” and highlights a conceptual confusion regarding healthy and unhealthy behaviours related to menstrual hygiene. According to a recent systematic review and meta-analysis, this confusion is due, in large part, to the wide range of definitions of menstrual hygiene in the literature and a lack of precision in the names of the optimal hygienic materials (tampons, disposable and reusable cloth menstrual pads made from old and new material, etc.), their ideal conditions of use, how often they are changed and how a woman should shower during her menstrual period.
My question to my colleagues is the following: How might we convince people to change their beliefs and behaviours related to menstrual hygiene if we have yet to identify the conceptual content of the expression “menstrual hygiene?”
In my opinion, it would be wise to work first on a clear definition of this expression in order to share the same scientific language and same scientific culture.


Lianne Wilson

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9 years 7 months ago #41 by lwilson

The response was posted by Tanya Santina on 25/01/2014.

The second gap resides in the weakness of the studies undertaken. Sumpter et al. explain the weakness of the studies and interventions aimed at promoting menstrual hygiene in both methodological and theoretical terms. In fact, behaviours related to menstrual hygiene remain under-theorized. Or “the theory of the problem helps planners to formulate appropriate objectives ordered by determinant, suggests what to change, and who to do it.” Hence, the relevance of performing studies based on social or health theories to gather valuable data and focus on influential factors.

The third gap is the parsimonious allocation of funds and grants to conduct robust studies. Personally, I have not found a solution to this dilemma yet.
I look forward to discussing and sharing my knowledge of this subject with you.

References:
1) Sumpter, C., & Torondel, B. (2013). A Systematic Review of the Health and Social Effects of Menstrual Hygiene Management. PLoS ONE , 8 (4), p. e62004.
2) Batholomew, L.K., Parcel, G.S., Kok, G., Gottlieb, N.H., & Fernandez, M.E. (2011). Planning Health Promotion Programs. An Intervention Mapping Approach (3rd ed.). United States of America : Jossey-Bass.


Lianne Wilson

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