Trial reportReproductive health2018
Use of menstrual cups among school girls: longitudinal observations nested in a randomised controlled feasibility study in rural western Kenya.
Trial report in Reproductive health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of menstrual cups on vaginal health, reproductive tract and urogenital infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EBioMedicine · 2026Pooled it
- Experiences, perceptions and barriers to use of reusable menstrual products among university students globally: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Systematic review of educational interventions to improve the menstrual health of young adolescent girls.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Measurement in the study of menstrual health and hygiene: A systematic review and audit.PloS one · 2020Pooled it
- Menstrual cup use, leakage, acceptability, safety, and availability: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Public health · 2019Pooled it
- Characterizing the bacterial surface profiles of menstrual cups and their association with user characteristics and vaginal microbiomes in an adolescent cohort from western Kenya.Gates open research · 2026Trial
- Acceptability of and experiences with menstrual hygiene cups among adolescent girls and young women aged 15-24 in two communities in Lusaka, Zambia: an exploratory study nested in the Yathu Yathu trial.Reproductive health · 2025Trial
- Trial
- "Healthy bodies, healthy minds": barriers and solutions to implementing a menstrual hygiene management program in South Sudan.Reproductive health · 2026Article
- Stakeholder priorities for sustaining operations and maintenance of school sanitation facilities in Kampala City, Uganda.Discover public health · 2026Article
- Redefining menstrual hygiene management with menstrual cups throughDialogues in health · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of a video-assisted teaching program on menstrual cup usage among women (18-45 years age group) in selected colleges of Patna.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Overcoming menstrual hygiene challenges through innovation and empowerment.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Prevalence and factors associated with unmet need for menstrual hygiene management in six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: A multilevel analysis.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- Evaluation of knowledge, attitude, practices and effectiveness of menstrual hygiene interventions in rural schools from Lilongwe, Malawi.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Suitability, acceptability, feasibility of modern menstrual methods: a qualitative study in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India.Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Article
- Article
- Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit Analyses of Providing Menstrual Cups and Sanitary Pads to Schoolgirls in Rural Kenya.Women's health reports (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2022Article
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
backgroundA menstrual cup can be a good solution for menstrual hygiene management in economically challenged settings. As part of a pilot study we assessed uptake and maintenance of cup use among young school girls in Kenya.
methodsA total of 192 girls between 14 to 16 years were enrolled in 10 schools in Nyanza Province, Western Kenya; these schools were assigned menstrual cups as part of the cluster-randomized pilot study. Girls were provided with menstrual cups in addition to training and guidance on use, puberty education, and instructions for menstrual hygiene. During repeated individual visits with nurses, girls reported use of the menstrual cup and nurses recorded colour change of the cup.
resultsGirls were able to keep their cups in good condition, with only 12 cups (6.3%) lost (dropped in toilet, lost or destroyed). Verbally reported cup use increased from 84% in the first 3 months (n = 143) to 96% after 9 months (n = 74). Colour change of the cup, as 'uptake' indicator of use, was detected in 70.8% of 192 participants, with a median time of 5 months (range 1-14 months). Uptake differed by school and was significantly higher among girls who experienced menarche within the past year (adjusted risk ratio 1.29, 95% CI 1.04-1.60), and was faster among girls enrolled in the second study year (hazard ratio 3.93, 95% CI 2.09-7.38). The kappa score comparing self-report and cup colour observation was 0.044 (p = 0.028), indicating that agreement was only slightly higher than by random chance.
conclusionsObjective evidence through cup colour change suggests school girls in rural Africa can use menstrual cups, with uptake improving with peer group education and over time.
trial registrationISRCTN17486946 . Retrospectively registered 09 December 2014.
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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.