scholarly journals Mapping the Knowledge and Understanding of Menarche, Menstrual Hygiene and Menstrual Health Among Adolescent Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

2020 ◽  
pp. 609-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli ◽  
Sheila Vipul Patel
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract This review aims to answer the following questions: (1) how knowledgeable are adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) about menstruation and how prepared are they for reaching menarche, (2) who are their sources of information regarding menstruation, (3) how well do the adults around them respond to their information needs, (4) what negative health and social effects do adolescents experience as a result of menstruation, and (5) how do adolescents respond when they experience these negative effects and what practices do they develop as a result? Using a structured search strategy, articles that investigate young girls’ preparedness for menarche, knowledge of menstruation, and practices surrounding menstrual hygiene in LMIC were identified. A total of 81 studies published in peer-reviewed journals between the years 2000 and 2015 that describe the experiences of adolescent girls from 25 different countries were included. Adolescent girls in LMIC are often uninformed and unprepared for menarche. Information is primarily obtained from mothers and other female family members who are not necessarily well equipped to fill gaps in girls’ knowledge. Exclusion and shame lead to misconceptions and unhygienic practices during menstruation. Rather than seek medical consultation, girls tend to miss school, self-medicate, and refrain from social interaction. Also problematic is that relatives and teachers are often not prepared to respond to the needs of girls. LMIC must recognize that lack of preparation, knowledge, and poor practices surrounding menstruation are key impediments not only to girls’ education, but also to self-confidence and personal development. In addition to investment in private latrines with clean water for girls in both schools and communities, countries must consider how to improve the provision of knowledge and understanding and how to better respond to the needs of adolescent girls.

scholarly journals Menstrual Hygiene Management and Waste Disposal in Low and Middle Income Countries—A Review of the Literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 2562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myles Elledge ◽  
Arundati Muralidharan ◽  
Alison Parker ◽  
Kristin Ravndal ◽  
Mariam Siddiqui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Sanitation Systems ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) has gained some attention and several literature reviews have been published. However, both original papers and reviews tend to focus on absorbent access and use and not on the disposal of menstrual waste. This review aims to fill a gap in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector by bringing a focus specifically on menstrual hygiene safe disposal in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). We reviewed published literature since 2002 on menstrual hygiene with a focus on menstrual waste management and menstrual absorbent disposal in LMIC. Database searches were conducted of both peer reviewed literature and grey literature, in addition to hand searching of references of relevant earlier literature reviews. In total 152 articles and reports were identified and 75 met the inclusion criteria and was included in the final review. Existing polices on MHM was also reviewed with a focus on India and South Africa. The review showed that disposal of menstrual waste is often neglected MHM and sanitation value chains, leading to improper disposal and negative impacts on users, the sanitation systems and the environment. Findings call for further research to gain better understandings of MHM waste streams, disposal behaviors, absorbent materials and waste management technologies to deliver health, safety, mobility and dignity for women and girls.

scholarly journals Beyond menstrual hygiene: addressing vaginal bleeding throughout the life course in low and middle-income countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. e000405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marni Sommer ◽  
Penelope A Phillips-Howard ◽  
Therese Mahon ◽  
Sasha Zients ◽  
Meredith Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Vaginal Bleeding ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Low And Middle Income

scholarly journals Menstrual hygiene management among adolescent schoolgirls in low- and middle-income countries: research priorities

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 33032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope A. Phillips-Howard ◽  
Bethany Caruso ◽  
Belen Torondel ◽  
Garazi Zulaika ◽  
Murat Sahin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Research Priorities ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Menstrual Hygiene Management ◽  
Hygiene Management ◽  
Low And Middle Income

scholarly journals Receiving Social Assistance in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Negating Shame or Producing Stigma?

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 705-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
KEETIE ROELEN
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Policy Options ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Critical Exploration ◽  
Low And Middle Income

AbstractDespite the centrality of shame and stigma within research on welfare in high-income countries, these issues only exist within the periphery of rapidly expanding practice in and research on social assistance in low- and middle-income countries. This oversight undermines social assistance’s potential in breaking the poverty-shame cycle and ignores its role in the (re)production of shame and stigma. This article offers a critical exploration of the role of social assistance in alleviating or reinforcing shame and stigma in low- and middle-income countries. Findings indicate that positive and negative effects co-exist but that far too little evidence is available to judge whether social assistance receipt overwhelmingly negates or plays into shame and stigma, particularly in low-income countries. Greater awareness of the interface between social assistance, shame and stigma, explorations of policy options that minimise or counter stigmatisation, and critical engagement with ideological and political discourse underpinning design and delivery of interventions represent crucial steps to move towards ‘shame proofing’ social assistance in low- and middle-income countries.

scholarly journals Linking agriculture and health in low- and middle-income countries: an interdisciplinary research agenda

2012 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan D. Dangour ◽  
Rosemary Green ◽  
Barbara Häsler ◽  
Jonathan Rushton ◽  
Bhavani Shankar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Prices ◽  
World Population ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Double Burden ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Household Incomes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Recent global fluctuations in food prices and continuing environmental degradation highlight the future challenge of feeding a growing world population. However, current dialogues rarely address the relationship between agricultural changes and health. This relationship is traditionally associated with the role of food in nutrition and with food safety, and while these are key interactions, we show in this paper that the relationship is far more complex and interesting. Besides the direct effects of agriculture on population nutrition, agriculture also influences health through its impact on household incomes, economies and the environment. These effects are felt particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where dramatic changes are affecting the agriculture–health relationship, in particular the growth of nutrition-related chronic disease and the associated double burden of under- and over-nutrition. Greater understanding of the negative effects of agriculture on health is also needed. While lengthening food value chains make the chain of influence between agricultural policy, food consumption, nutrition and health more complex, there remain opportunities to improve health by changing agricultural systems. The first challenge in doing this, we suggest, is to improve our capacity to measure the impact of agricultural interventions on health outcomes, and vice versa.

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