Clinical Research Directory

An MHH Intervention in Bangladesh Health Systems

Over 50% of Bangladeshi women and girls use old cloths as menstrual absorbents due to cost, comfort, and familiarity. A substantial proportion, comprising 52% of adolescent girls and 62% of women washed the cloths with soap and water. However, more than 60% dried it in hiding instead of drying openly under the sun and over 40% of adolescent and women stored the cloths in a secret place for reuse rather than with regular clothes. Nevertheless, the minimal alternatives often necessitate the use of locally available disposable sanitary pads despite the cost. Still there are some factors which jeopardize the proper menstrual health and hygiene. These include lack of suitable sanitation facilities, availability and accessibility to affordable quality hygienic menstrual products for adolescent girls and women at home, educational institutions and at workplaces, insufficient water, sanitation facilities with proper disposal methods for used products and prevailing taboos and misconception surrounding menstruation and menstrual health hygiene. Consequently, women and girls in Bangladesh adopt unsafe and unhygienic practices to manage menstruation and face significant challenges and health problems that impact various aspects of lives. There are limited options for menstrual hygiene management. Menstrual hygiene management product which is low-cost, comfortable, easy to use and made can be the sustainable option and also align with strategic directions of national menstrual hygiene management strategy-2021. This proposal addresses lack of a proper solution for menstrual hygiene management as a barrier to a quality life for a woman. Rather than trying to shift over 50% of menstruating women and girls into an environmentally unfriendly and high-cost method of using single-use disposable pads, the investigators will develop and trial a low-cost intervention to improve MHH practices among the women and girls in Bangladesh. Improving MHH facilities at household level through the community level health systems structure can improve MHH knowledge, practice. The investigators hypothesize that the combination of the participatory BCC materials addressing social marginalization, MHH, and reproductive health, the provision of Sultana cloth pads and Sultana washer and dryer bags, and MHH Working Group meetings will increase uptake (at least 70%) and acceptability, feasibility and willingness (at least 50%) to pay for intervention products, improve knowledge, practices of menstruating women and girls in Bangladesh. The objectives are to assess the acceptability and feasibility of using Sultana cloth pad and Sultana washer and dryer bags, to assess the effect of Sultana cloth pad and Sultana washer and dryer Bags on improved MHH knowledge and practices and to measure the impact on MHH self-efficacy and quality of life. This study will be a cRCT conducting near Dhaka. There will be 331 menstruating women and adolescent girls in each arm (control and intervention). Before conducting the cRCT, first the investigators will call for a consultative meeting of the prior "MHH Working Group" that the investigators formed as part of the BMGF-funded "Piloting menstrual hygiene management interventions among urban and rural schools in Bangladesh" project, align this proposed trial objectives and hold meetings, when required, to collect the feedback and discuss the process required to achieve the targeted policy changes and to scale out the MHH interventions (Sultana cloth pad and Sultana washer and dryer bags) in the health systems. The investigators will train relevant facilitators (FWV/CHCPs) to deliver monthly sessions on puberty, MHH, and SRHR to menstruating women and adolescent girls. The investigators will conduct baseline survey to explore current MHH knowledge, practices, attitudes self-efficacy and stigma. Then in the intervention clusters, the investigators will roll out the interventions through the existing reproductive health programs in the health system and community clinics to ensure broad outreach and accessibility. In the control clusters, the investigators will not implement any strategy. The investigators will conduct monthly fidelity assessments with randomly selected participants to explore whether the Sultana cloth pad, Sultana Washer and Dryer Bag are distributed and training is provided as planned, if the participants receive the intended quantity of materials and duration of engagement, quality of delivery, participant responsiveness (level of use, understanding, and satisfaction with the intervention products), reach (proportion of intended participants who received the intervention), and differentiation (ensuring control clusters do not receive or access intervention components) and any modifications (if any or required). Then an endline survey will be conducted to assess the improved MHH knowledge, practices, attitudes, intervention uptake and reduced stigma at the end of the cRCT.

The Use of Menstrual Cups in the Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management of Women Who Use Wheelchairs

This study is designed to evaluate the impact of menstrual cup use on menstrual health and hygiene management among women who use wheelchairs.In addition, the study will serve as a reference for future research that includes other groups of people with disabilities and will contribute to the literature. The main questions it aims to answer are: How does menstrual cup use affect the menstrual hygiene management experiences of women who use wheelchairs? What impact does menstrual cup use have on women's comfort, perception of hygiene, and participation in social life? Do women's knowledge, attitudes, and satisfaction levels regarding menstrual cup use change over time? Why do women who use wheelchairs choose to use or not to use menstrual cups? This quasi-experimental study will use a repeated measures design (within-subjects design). Participants included in the study will be scheduled for an appointment to receive training on menstrual cup use and to be provided with a menstrual cup. The training will be conducted face-to-face in the education room of the relevant association. During this session, the participant will first respond to the initial part of the questionnaire. Following that, she will receive training on menstrual cup use (supported by video, models, etc.), and based on the information obtained, a menstrual cup in a suitable size will be provided. The menstrual cups to be used by the participants will be supplied by the researcher. After the initial meeting, six follow-up interviews will be conducted following the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th menstrual periods. In each session, participants will be asked to complete a follow-up-specific questionnaire, and any questions they have will be answered. Their use of the menstrual cup will be assessed during each follow-up. If a participant is not using the cup, the reasons for non-use will be explored, and if desired, the training will be repeated or individual counseling will be provided. If the participant refuses counseling or states that she no longer wishes to use the cup, she will be withdrawn from the study. If a participant drops out during the first three follow-ups, a new participant will be recruited to replace her.

Menstrual Management Using a Mobile Application in Adolescent Girls With Mild Intellectual Disabilities

In the study conducted to determine the effectiveness of menstruation management training given with a mobile application (Bağımsız Yapabilirim) in female adolescents with mild intellectual disabilities in the independent living support program, the effect of the developed mobile application on hand hygiene and pad change will be determined. The research is a randomized controlled study.