Period poverty: a scoping review.
Mayara Cristina de Paula, Bruna Borlina Monteiro, Ludmila de Oliveira Ruela and 1 others
PMID 40561260WHAT IT FOUND
Period poverty was linked to missing school or work, stigma, anxiety and depression, and improvised products that risk infections.
Nurses can ask about menstrual supplies, privacy, information and pain, not just pad use.
Key findings
01The review included 23 studies and highlighted four preponderant factors: factors associated with period poverty, impacts of period poverty, menstrual hygiene management, and coping strategies.
02Period poverty was linked to missing school or work, and to anxiety and depression.
03Improvised menstrual materials and prolonged pad use were linked to skin irritation, urogenital infections and toxic shock syndrome.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a scoping review, not an effectiveness review, so it cannot show that any nursing or policy action works. The included studies were heterogeneous and mostly qualitative or cross-sectional, so they cannot establish cause and effect. The search was limited to selected databases, gray literature and reference lists, so relevant studies may have been missed. The methods describe data extraction and descriptive analysis, but do not report quality appraisal of the included studies. The authors note a gap in research with transgender and non-binary people, so their experiences are not well represented.
Declared interests
Funded in part by Brazilian agencies CAPES and CNPq; no competing interests are stated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that providing pads or education improves menstrual health. This scoping review mapped associations and gaps; it did not test interventions, and most included studies were qualitative or cross-sectional.