Period Poverty: How Access To Feminine Hygiene Products Affects The Psychosocial Development Of Young Women?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the menstrual hygiene needs of adolescent girls and explore factors influencing poor access to products and related school absences amongst adolescent girls. Many young women cannot afford menstrual health products to meet their monthly needs, and this may impact their well-being and school performance. Period poverty is a subset of the broader issue of hygiene insecurity. As a result of hygiene insecurity, women often lack health, self-esteem, and dignity due to limited access to hygiene products such as sanitary towels or pads, tampons, soap, and clean underwear. A systematic review of the literature was done in the CINAHL Plus database, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. The themes identified across the studies are (a) poor access to menstrual products, (b) school environment does not provide for the needs of young women and (c) inadequate education on menstrual health in schools. The results indicate there is an unmet need for affordable products and teaching that targets both the knowledge and management of menstruation. Inadequate menstruation hygiene has been shown to be linked to school absenteeism. In schools, there is a significant need for menstrual hygiene products, as well as regular use of school resources to get them. With additional research to help inform how period poverty impacts adolescent girls and young women, there is tremendous opportunity to help address this critical, yet under-addressed issue. Menstruation is an ongoing biological process that affects women and adolescent girls. Menstruating women, on average, use over 9,000 sanitary items throughout their lifetime, which adds up rapidly. Adolescent girls face struggles to manage their menstrual cycles and those in lower socioeconomic classes often lack access to the products they need. Despite how essential menstrual products are, there are vast number of adolescent girls who are unable to afford or acquire these necessities. This lack of access to period products is often referred to as, ‘period poverty’. This can result in delayed challenges in achieving psychosocial growth in adolescent girls, as evidenced by not attending school Lack of access to products amongst adolescent girls causes inhibitions in psychosocial settings and causes girls to not interact with others freely. Ultimately this can limit a girl’s potential and opportunities later in life. 1 in 5 girls in the United States reported having missed school because they did not have access to menstrual products. Without proper menstrual hygiene management (MHM), a girl’s attendance at school is reported to decline or cease altogether. Providing adequate resources to meet women's and girls' menstrual hygiene needs may have an impact on female school attendance rates and expanding women's education is critical in achieving one’s life goals.