ArticleJournal of women's health (2002)2015
Menstrual Needs and Associations with Sexual and Reproductive Risks in Rural Kenyan Females: A Cross-Sectional Behavioral Survey Linked with HIV Prevalence.
Article in Journal of women's health (2002), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 107 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of menstrual cups on vaginal health, reproductive tract and urogenital infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EBioMedicine · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Transactional sex among women in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Earning pocket money and girls' menstrual hygiene management in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC women's health · 2022Pooled it
- Menstrual hygiene practice among adolescent girls in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Identifying the Impact of Intimate Partner Violence in Humanitarian Settings: Using an Ecological Framework to Review 15 Years of Evidence.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Menstrual cup use, leakage, acceptability, safety, and availability: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Public health · 2019Pooled it
- Systematic review of menstrual hygiene management requirements, its barriers and strategies for disabled people.PloS one · 2019Pooled it
- Trial
- Use of menstrual cups among school girls: longitudinal observations nested in a randomised controlled feasibility study in rural western Kenya.Reproductive health · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Defined by blood: lived experiences of menstrual health through the lifecourse among women in Zimbabwe - a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Access to WASH facilities and health implications of period poverty among in-school girls in rural areas of Africa: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Economic insecurity, access to menstrual materials, and sexual coercion: a qualitative study among adolescent schoolgirls in Ibadan, Nigeria.Reproductive health · 2026Article
- Breast cancer awareness and preferences for screening messaging on menstrual hygiene products in Ghana and Tanzania.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Menstrual Equity: A Survey Study with ZIP-Code Level Analysis.Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM · 2026Article
- Using qualitative data to build causal pathways on perceived associations between poor menstrual health and hygiene and harms among schoolgirls in western Kenya.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2026Article
- A qualitative exploration of menstrual management practices and the impact of menstruation on the livelihoods of female sex workers in a peri-urban area of western Kenya.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2026Article
- Article
- Effects of a comprehensive menstrual and sexual reproductive health intervention on RTI symptoms among adolescent girls in the Mwanza region: a mixed-methods analysis.Reproductive health · 2025Article
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFemales in low and middle income countries (LMICs) have difficulty coping with menstrual needs, but few studies have examined the social or health implications of these needs.
methodsResponses from 3418 menstruating females aged 13-29 years were extracted from an HIV and behavioral risks cross-sectional survey conducted in rural western Kenya. We examined sanitary products used, provision of products from sexual partners or from transactional sex, and demographic and sexual exposures.
resultsOverall, 75% of females reported using commercial pads and 25% used traditional materials such as cloth or items like paper or tissue, with 10% of girls <15 years old depending on makeshift items. Two-thirds of females with no education relied on traditional items. Having attended secondary school increased the odds of using commercial pads among married (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] 4.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.25-7.12) and single females (AOR 2.17, 95% CI 1.04-4.55). Married females had lower odds of pad use if they reported early (<12 years of age) compared with later (≥18 years) sexual debut (64% vs. 78%, AOR 0.45, 95% CI 0.21-0.97). Two-thirds of pad users received them from sexual partners. Receipt was lower among married females if partners were violent (AOR 0.67, 95% CI 0.53-0.85). Receipt among single females was higher if they had two or more sexual partners in the past year (AOR 2.11, 95% CI 1.04-4.29). Prevalence of engaging in sex for money to buy pads was low (1.3%); however, 10% of 15-year-olds reported this, with girls ≤15 having significantly higher odds compared with females over 15 (AOR 2.84, 95% CI 0.89-9.11). The odds of having transactional sex for pads was higher among females having two or more partners in the past 12 months (AOR 4.86, 95% CI 2.06-11.43).
conclusionsMenstrual needs of impoverished females in rural LMICs settings likely leads to increased physical and sexual harms. Studies are required to strengthen knowledge and to evaluate interventions to reduce these harms.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.