Unmet Menstrual Hygiene Needs Among Low-Income Women
Unmet Menstrual Hygiene Needs Among Low-Income Women
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DOI：
10.1097/aog.0000000000003060
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发表时间：
2019-02-01
影响因子：
7.2
通讯作者：
Wall, L. Lewis
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Kuhlmann, Anne Sebert;Bergquist, Eleanor Peters;Wall, L. Lewis
目的：评估密苏里州圣路易斯市低收入妇女的月经卫生需求。方法：采用探索性横断面设计，从圣路易斯为低收入妇女提供服务的10个非营利社区组织的有目的样本中招募18岁及以上的妇女。从2017年7月至2018年3月，进行了183次访谈问卷调查和3次焦点小组讨论。调查和焦点小组确定了妇女在何处以及如何获得经期卫生用品，以及当她们买不起时她们会怎么做。采用滚雪球抽样策略，18个社区组织也接受了电子调查，以评估他们提供的月经卫生服务和用品。结果：所有被邀请参加访谈的女性和焦点小组都同意这样做。近三分之二（64%）的妇女在前一年无法负担所需的经期卫生用品。大约五分之一的女性（21%）每月都会经历这种情况。许多妇女用布、破布、纸巾或厕纸将就；有些人甚至使用从公共浴室取来的儿童尿布或纸巾。近一半的妇女（46%）在过去一年中买不起食品和经期卫生用品。各年龄段的月经卫生需求没有差异。三分之二的组织表示，经期卫生是其客户的一项需求。13家公司向客户提供经期卫生用品；其中两家提供经期卫生教育。结论：经期卫生用品是许多低收入妇女缺乏的基本必需品。我们记录了美国大城市低收入妇女无法负担这些基本必需品的程度，以及她们如何应对。妇女保健提供者应提倡改善全美低收入妇女获得经期卫生用品的机会。
OBJECTIVE: To assess the menstrual hygiene needs of low-income women in St. Louis, Missouri.METHODS: Using an exploratory, cross-sectional design, women 18 years of age and older were recruited from a purposive sample of 10 not-for-profit community organizations that serve low-income women in St. Louis. From July 2017 to March 2018, 183 interviewer-administered surveys and three focus group discussions were conducted. Surveys and focus groups identified where and how women access menstrual hygiene products and what they do when they cannot afford to buy them. Using a snowball sampling strategy, 18 community organizations were also surveyed electronically to assess what services and supplies they provide for menstrual hygiene.RESULTS: All women invited to participate in the interviews and the focus groups agreed to do so. Nearly two thirds (64%) of women were unable to afford needed menstrual hygiene supplies during the previous year. Approximately one fifth of women (21%) experienced this monthly. Many women make do with cloth, rags, tissues, or toilet paper; some even use children's diapers or paper towels taken from public bathrooms. Nearly half of women (46%) could not afford to buy both food and menstrual hygiene products during the past year. There was no difference in menstrual hygiene needs by age. Two thirds of organizations indicated that menstrual hygiene was a need of their clients. Thirteen provide menstrual hygiene supplies to their clients; two provide menstrual hygiene education.CONCLUSION: Menstrual hygiene supplies are a basic necessity that many low-income women lack. We document the extent to which low-income women in a major metropolitan area in the United States are unable to afford these basic necessities and what they do to cope. Women's health care providers should advocate for improved access to menstrual hygiene supplies for low-income females across the United States.