The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
Department of Family Medicine, The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2024 May;33(5):671-677. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2023.0569. Epub 2024 Feb 13.
The lack of access to period products, which has been colloquially termed "period poverty," is a problem that millions of people face worldwide. Investigators have found that period poverty is a pervasive issue in the United States, despite its status as a high resource country. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of period poverty in school-aged adolescents in Toledo, Ohio. This study used an observational cross-sectional design and was approved by the institutional review board. Participants completed a survey that assessed their access to period products, their level of understanding about their sexual/menstrual health, their feelings toward menstruation, and the perceived impact of periods on their lives. Younger students were more likely to miss school due to lack of period products ( = 0.0084). To the question "Why don't you have pads or tampons?" 36.2% expressed financial concerns and 18.3% reported inadequate transportation. When asked whether students ever had to miss school due to their cycle, 9.4% identified a lack of products as their reason. Participants also reported high rates of absence from sports, work, spending time with family/friends, and theater/music practice due to their menstrual period. As people across the globe experience period poverty, our study demonstrates evidence of this phenomenon among Toledo adolescents. Owing to the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, students report repurposing miscellaneous items in place of pads or tampons, missing school or work, and associating negative connotations with their cycles.
缺乏经期用品，俗称“经期贫困”，是全球数百万人面临的一个问题。研究人员发现，尽管美国是一个资源丰富的国家，但经期贫困在美国是一个普遍存在的问题。本研究旨在确定俄亥俄州托莱多市学龄青少年的经期贫困发生率。本研究采用观察性横断面设计，并获得了机构审查委员会的批准。参与者完成了一项调查，评估他们获得经期用品的情况、他们对性/月经健康的了解程度、他们对月经的看法以及经期对他们生活的感知影响。较小的学生因缺乏经期用品而缺课的可能性更高（ = 0.0084）。对于“为什么你没有护垫或卫生棉条？”这个问题，36.2%的人表示担心经济问题，18.3%的人报告说交通不便。当被问及学生是否因月经周期而不得不缺课时，9.4%的人表示是因为缺乏产品。参与者还报告说，由于经期，他们经常缺课、缺勤、不参加体育活动、不与家人/朋友共度时光，以及不参加戏剧/音乐练习。随着全球范围内的人们都在经历经期贫困，我们的研究表明，托莱多青少年也存在这种现象。由于缺乏经期卫生用品，学生们报告说，他们会用各种杂物代替护垫或卫生棉条，缺课或旷工，并且对自己的月经周期产生负面联想。
