ArticlePLOS global public health2026
Youth insights on menstrual health and hygiene in Burkina Faso; a comparison of written versus spoken qualitative text.
Article in PLOS global public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Understanding girls' lived experiences with menstruation is essential yet can be challenging given the taboo nature of the topic. While diaries have not previously been employed as a data collection method among girls in this setting, the use of diaries could generate unique insights due to their private, reflective, and participant-led nature. Our study aimed to explore the menstrual health and hygiene experiences of schoolgirls in Burkina Faso, comparing diaries and in-person interviews, and to capture girls' thoughts on the process and value (or lack thereof) of diary writing. This study involved 30 girls aged 10-19 years to understand their experiences of menstruation. Data were analyzed using inductive and deductive approaches within a systematic thematic analysis framework, supported by NVivo 12 pro. Common social meanings attached to menarche include "becoming a woman" and "staying away from boys". Bullying, stigma, and inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities were identified as major challenges in schools. For some, the diary provided a safe space to express their thoughts and share their menstruation stories. However, challenges with diary writing included its additional workload, limitations linked to language proficiency and writing ability, and perceptions of the diaries as being repetitive in terms of questions. Diaries and IDIs generated similar menstruation-related themes, indicating that they are equally effective in capturing experiences on this topic among this respondent group in this setting. Our study reinforces the need to support schoolgirls in achieving menstrual health and wellbeing. Efforts should prioritize promoting education across communities to mitigate the impact of cultural and religious restrictions. In contexts where participants have limited writing and language proficiency, future studies may consider alternative methods that nevertheless facilitate privacy and are respondent-driven, such as audio diaries. Further research could benefit from adopting either method of data collection to fit the contextual needs of participants.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.