ArticleBMC women's health2018
Menstrual health and school absenteeism among adolescent girls in Uganda (MENISCUS): a feasibility study.
Article in BMC women's health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 102 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
102 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 284 citations in OpenAlex.
- Earning pocket money and girls' menstrual hygiene management in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC women's health · 2022Pooled it
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Implications for the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Adolescent Menstrual Health Literacy in Low, Middle and High-Income Countries: A Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Exploring menstrual products: A systematic review and meta-analysis of reusable menstrual pads for public health internationally.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- Women's and girls' experiences of menstruation in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis.PLoS medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Menstrual Pain Management, School Absenteeism and Educational Performance Among Adolescent Students: Cross-Sectional Mixed-Methods Analysis Nested Within a Cluster Randomised Trial.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Culture, self-esteem and menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in Uganda: the impact of economic and family strengthening.BMC women's health · 2025Trial
- Effects and costs of a multi-component menstrual health intervention (MENISCUS) on mental health problems, educational performance, and menstrual health in Ugandan secondary schools: an open-label, school-based, cluster-randomised controlled trial.The Lancet. Global health · 2025Trial
- Does distribution of menstrual products through community-based, peer-led sexual and reproductive health services increase use of appropriate menstrual products? Findings from the Yathu Yathu trial.Reproductive health · 2023Trial
- Effects of sanitary pad distribution and reproductive health education on upper primary school attendance and reproductive health knowledge and attitudes in Kenya: a cluster randomized controlled trial.Reproductive health · 2021Trial
- Psychosocial stressors related to extreme weather events and multiple resource insecurities: qualitative insights from refugee youth in an Ugandan humanitarian setting.SSM. Mental health · 2026Article
- Menstrual hygiene management and social exclusion among women in Afghanistan: insights from a national survey.BMC women's health · 2026Article
- Association of menstruation with life activities of adolescents in Abha, Saudi Arabia.Medicine · 2026Article
- Primary dysmenorrhea and associated factors among female adolescents in Jinka town, Southern Ethiopia, 2024.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Menstrual Hygiene Knowledge and Its Determinants Among Adolescent Secondary Schoolgirls in Nasarawa West Senatorial Zone, Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Prevalence, severity and correlates of dysmenorrhea among postpartum women in Western Kenya: A cross-sectional study.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Youth insights on menstrual health and hygiene in Burkina Faso; a comparison of written versus spoken qualitative text.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Positive but insufficient: ghana's attempt at eradicating period-related school absenteeism through sanitary pads provision for schoolgirls.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2026Article
42 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundManagement of menstruation can present substantial challenges to girls in low-income settings. In preparation for a menstrual hygiene intervention to reduce school absenteeism in Uganda, this study aimed to investigate menstruation management practices, barriers and facilitators, and the influence of menstruation on school absenteeism among secondary school students in a peri-urban district of Uganda.
methodsQualitative and quantitative studies were conducted among consenting girls and boys aged 14-17 years in four secondary schools in Entebbe sub-District, Uganda. Methods included group and in-depth interviews with students, a quantitative cross-sectional questionnaire, a prospectively self-completed menstrual diary, key informant interviews with policy makers, and observations of school water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with school absenteeism during the most recent menstrual period.
resultsGirls reported substantial embarrassment and fear of teasing related to menstruation in the qualitative interviews, and said that this, together with menstrual pain and lack of effective materials for menstrual hygiene management, led to school absenteeism. All policy makers interviewed reported poverty and menstruation as the key factors associated with school attendance. The 352 girls with questionnaire data had a median age of 16 (inter-quartile range (IQR) = 15,16) years, with median age at menarche of 13 (IQR = 13,14) years. Of these, 64 girls (18.7%) reported having stained their clothes and 69 (19.7%) reported missing at least 1 day of school, during their most recent period. Missing school during the most recent period was associated with physical symptoms (headache (odds ratio (OR) = 2.15, 95%CI:1.20, 3.86), stomach pain (OR = 1.89, 95%CI:0.89, 4.04), back pain (OR = 1.75, 95%CI:0.97, 3.14), and with changing protection 4 or more times per 24 h period (OR = 2.08, 95%CI:1.06, 4.10). In the diary sub-study among 40 girls, school absence was reported on 28% of period-days, compared with 7% of non-period days (adjusted odds ratio = 5.99, 95%CI:4.4, 8.2; p < 0.001).
conclusionIn this peri-urban Ugandan population, menstruation was strongly associated with school attendance. Evaluation of a menstrual management intervention that address both psychosocial (e.g. self-confidence, attitudes) and physical (e.g. management of pain, use of adequate menstrual hygiene materials, improved water and sanitation facilities) aspects of menstruation are needed.
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