Health Outcomes from Using Menstrual Cups – a Pilot Study from Moshi, Tanzania
POLICY BRIEF Health outcomes from using menstrual cups – A pilot study from Moshi, Tanzania POLICY BRIEF FROM LUND UNIVERSITY CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES AND FEMME INTERNATIONAL | 2021 Efforts to reduce period poverty1 for girls and women WHY WAS THIS STUDY DONE? around the world has increased in the last decade because To date, no research has been published on adults who have been of growing scientific evidence showing how it impacts using menstrual cups for extended periods of time. both physical and mental health, mobility, household Past MHH research has overwhelmingly focused on adolescent school- expenditures, school performance and employment as girls, leaving a knowledge gap about women between 20-50 yrs of age. well as sanitation systems and the environment2 – all of which are key factors relevant for achieving a number of Few MHH studies have been conducted that target the link between health – economy – well-being outcomes. the Sustainable Development Goals3. In Tanzania, atten- tion to address Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) WHAT DID THE RESEARCHERS DO AND FIND? has so far, focused primarily on school girls4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 By applying an integrated and mixed methods study approach, inclu- ding the novel Swab Party, comparisons between menstrual cup users leaving a knowledge gap about how it affects the country’s and non-menstrual cup users could be made. menstruating women. Tanzania TANZANIA Study results show that extended menstrual cup use has multiple direct and indirect health outcomes, including reduced incidence of urinary Capital LargestCapital city Largest city tract infections, bacterial vaginosis and skin rashes, less mental anxiety StudyStudy area area MoshiMoshi and higher self-confidence in addition to lowering health care costs, impacting both physical and physiological health.
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