Chalada Melissa Judith
Pathology Queensland, Queensland Public Health and Scientific Services, Rockhampton, Australia.
Dialogues Health. 2025 Apr 20;6:100219. doi: 10.1016/j.dialog.2025.100219. eCollection 2025 Jun.
In 2022, the World Health Organization acknowledged menstrual health as a global human right and encouraged a shift in responsibility from individuals to the community. Globally, menstrual products are rarely included in workplace policies, hindering equitable well-being by placing disproportionate burden on menstruating workers. This exploratory study in Queensland, Australia supplied a public sector workplace with menstrual products for two months in 2023. A questionnaire with qualitative and quantitative aspects assessed the experiences of 21 menstruating workers. Before the supply, 94.7 % had experienced menstruation at work without access to products, leading to mental distress. Additionally, 71.4 % worried about lacking products when needed and 38.1 % believed this worry decreased their mental well-being or concentration. After the supply, 94.1 % reported improved emotions, 70.6 % perceived improved concentration and 64.7 % felt improved mental well-being. However, only 57.1 % believed that menstrual product supply should be mandated by workplace policy. Factors contributing to exclusion of menstrual products from global workplace policies are discussed, such as limited awareness, poor workplace infrastructure and persistent stigma. This study was limited by a small sample size and self-reporting bias. Regardless, the findings highlight the respective positive and negative impacts of including or omitting menstrual products in workplace policy, even in a socioeconomically privileged country like Australia. This emphasises the underestimation of menstrual health as a basic human right in workplace health and safety, urging more research on workplace menstrual product provision and related feminine sanitary infrastructure especially in low-resourced nations.
2022年，世界卫生组织承认月经健康是一项全球人权，并鼓励将责任从个人转移到社区。在全球范围内，职场政策中很少包含经期用品，给有月经的员工带来了不成比例的负担，从而阻碍了公平的福祉。这项在澳大利亚昆士兰州开展的探索性研究于2023年为一个公共部门的职场提供了两个月的经期用品。一份包含定性和定量方面的问卷评估了21名有月经的员工的体验。在提供用品之前，94.7%的人曾在工作时来月经但无法获得用品，这导致了精神困扰。此外，71.4%的人担心在需要时没有用品，38.1%的人认为这种担忧降低了他们的心理健康或注意力。在提供用品之后，94.1%的人报告情绪有所改善，70.6%的人感觉注意力有所提高，64.7%的人感觉心理健康状况有所改善。然而，只有57.1%的人认为职场政策应强制提供经期用品。文中讨论了导致经期用品被排除在全球职场政策之外的因素，如认知有限、职场基础设施差以及持续存在的污名化。这项研究受到样本量小和自我报告偏差的限制。尽管如此，研究结果凸显了职场政策中包含或不包含经期用品各自产生的积极和消极影响，即使是在像澳大利亚这样社会经济条件优越的国家。这强调了在职业健康与安全方面，月经健康作为一项基本人权被低估的情况，敦促对职场经期用品供应及相关女性卫生基础设施开展更多研究，尤其是在资源匮乏的国家。
