Dear Dirk,

Apologies for the delayed response. It is nice to meet you - we are very familiar with Womena and their important work evaluating menstrual cup use. That's great you are working together with them in Karamoja.

PATH would be happy to share our online user surveys on menstrual cups. We had several versions we posted. Though they would need to be adapted, the questions may provide some additional ideas. Feel free to email me to discuss further. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Best wishes,
Nancy

Dear Nancy,

Our organization, Welthungerhilfe, performs actually test trials with menstrual cups in peri-urban and rural environment, as well as in secondary schools, in close co-operation with the INGO WOMENA. The location is Karamoja region in North-East Uganda.

For the endline-surveys, it would be very favourable to know your questionnaire, so that we can integrate all relevant aspects.

Best regards

Dirk

Dirk Ullerich
Welthungerhilfe Programme manager Karamoja
Moroto/ Uganda
Phone +256 789 831 584
Web-site: www.welthungerhilfe.de

Hi Elizabeth,

We recently finished a landscape of menstrual cups available on the global market and responses from 400 girls and women from 37 countries to our online survey, about their experiences and preferences for different cup models. Though we are still analyzing these data, preliminary indications are that twenty-five percent of respondents who requested design modifications to their cups, identified cup rigidity as a design they wished to improve. The majority requested a softer cup, though they perceive firmness as a trade-off between comfort and functionality. Users articulated that firmer cups prevented leaks because they held their shape and popped open more easily than softer cups. However, firmer cups are more noticeable in place and may be particularly uncomfortable for girls and women prone to cramping. Softer cups may not open all the way to reach their full capacity, and risk collapse during exercise or intense physical activity. Alternative removal features (23%) and larger cups (16%) were the second leading requests for design modifications.

At PATH, we are product agnostic -- no single menstrual care product is suitable for all women -- but we are pleased at the prospect of a device that is reusable with a life-span of many years, relatively easy to clean, and acceptable based on research conducted in a number of low-resource settings, including Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, and Nepal. Though we are still finishing our analysis of these survey responses, our hope is to conduct better understand the market, including preferences and willingness and ability of girls and women to pay, and work with manufacturers to advance a cup that is more affordable and effective for girls and women in low-resource settings. We believe menstrual health can provide a critical entry point for discussions and information about sexual and reproductive health and rights. We are wrapping up the report this month, with the hope of having more detailed results by the end of the year.

All the best,
Nancy

Now that Martha has brought this thread back to the top of the list, I am wondering:

Nancy: what were the outcomes of your menstrual cup user survey? I would be very curious!

Regards,
Elisabeth

Thanks for creating the survey. Menstrual cups are indeed helping mankind in preventing pollution. Women use approximately 20 pads or tampons per month and in one year this accounts to 240 pads or tampons. While a single menstrual cup like Cupissima, Diva, Lunette, Instead, etc. can replace this and prevent a considerable amount of potentially avoidable waste.

Hi Doreen,

Thanks for pointing this out. I was able to fix all three links in Nancy's post (she had tried to use embedded hyperlinks but not in the right way). So now we're ready to roll to take the survey! I guess these survey are for women only (but perhaps some men are curious to see what kind of questions we are being asked in the survey). I will take survey 1 ASAP.

Regards,
Elisabeth

Good afternoon,

None of your links are working.

Best regards,

Doreen

Greetings!

I’m a fan of the SuSanA forum and the supportive online community it fosters.

As you know, research suggests that without access to affordable, reliable menstrual care products, girls and women in low-resource settings may resort to using unhygienic alternatives. Increasing menstrual hygiene options for girls and women has implications for their health, education and gender equity. PATH is interested in advancing appropriate products, including menstrual cups, that meet girls and women’s needs. We've created three short surveys to better understand users' preferences and experiences with different menstrual cups and would greatly appreciate your feedback.

- If you currently, or have ever used a reusable menstrual cup, you can take our 10 minute survey here: svy.mk/22eBKsY
- If you currently, or have ever use a disposable menstrual cup (Instead Softcup), we'd love your feedback here: svy.mk/22cEwm5 - If you currently, or have ever used a diaphragm as a menstrual cup, we'd love to hear from you here: svy.mk/1Rh7VQx .

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Best wishes, Nancy