ArticlePloS one2023
What socio-demographic factors support disposable vs. sustainable menstrual choices? Evidence from India's National Family Health Survey-5.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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14 citing papers in PubMed.
- "Monthly Flower Blooms and Sheds off": Awareness, Hesitancy, and usage of Sustainable Menstrual Products among College Students of Pathanamthitta District, Kerala.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine · 2026Article
- Nurse-led menstrual hygiene management package to improve menstrual health practices among university students: Randomised waitlist-controlled protocol study.Journal of education and health promotion · 2026Article
- Menstrual waste management practices among female students in Niger delta development commission hostels in educational institutions in Niger delta, Nigeria.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Exploring the temporal shift in menstrual hygiene practices among young women across India: a micro and macro perspectives.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2025Article
- Menstrual hygiene practice needs, and depression among refugee women in Jordan: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- 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
- Understanding period product use among young women in rural and urban India from a geospatial perspective.Scientific reports · 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
- Spatial heterogeneity of menstrual discriminatory practices against Nepalese women: A population-based study using the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Decomposing the rural-urban gap in hygienic material use during menstruation among adolescent women in India.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Unlocking the Role of Social Norms: How They Shape Women's Public Toilet Usage in India.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2023Article
- A pilot survey of students' menstrual attitudes, experiences, and needs on an urban university campus.Women's health (London, England)Article
- Concerns and Willingness to Use Menstrual Cup Among Healthcare Personnel: A Mixed-Method Study From Tertiary Care Institute in North India.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social MedicineArticle
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2 authors.
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Abstract
For over a decade, improving menstrual hygiene among poor girls and women in low-and-middle-income-countries has been a prominent global goal. Towards this, governments in the Global South have worked to promote the uptake of disposable sanitary pads. Despite this, we continue to see a high prevalence of period poverty mainly because disposable pads require monthly purchasing that may be burdensome for many women. Not only are pads financially unsustainable but also represent a heavy environmental burden which has kindled an interest in re-usable innovations like menstrual cups that present a sustainable solution. However, there is little understanding of factors that promote the take-up of disposable vs. sustainable products at population levels. In this paper, we draw on India's National Family Health Survey-5 to understand the socio-demographic determinants of period product usage among girls and women, differentiated by their sustainability quotient. Our findings suggest that awareness of sustainable products and cultural factors are the key driver to promote their use. Women with exposure to menstrual cups either via education or mass media were more likely to use them. Belonging to urban areas and to disadvantaged social categories are other driving factors, at least partly because taboos of vaginal insertion are less of a concern among these groups. These findings suggest that improving the uptake of menstrual cups requires a paradigm shift in menstrual health policies from the promotion of disposable pads alone to spreading awareness of sustainable period choices among women via innovative use of mass media and community networks. Some micro-level evidence of change supports our conclusions.
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