Dear all,

It is my turn today to introduce myself and a research grant which I am leading with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:

Title of grant: Menstrual Management & Sanitation Systems
Name of lead organization: University of Maryland
Primary contact at lead organization: Vivian Hoffmann (more information about myself: please see here on my faculty website: www.arec.umd.edu/people/faculty/vivian-hoffmann)
Grantee location: College Park, Maryland, USA

Developing country where the research is being tested: South Africa, India

Short description of the project:
The project will address the interactions between menstrual management and sanitation, using a systems approach that integrates an understanding of the sanitation hardware with women’s practices, needs and willingness to pay for menstrual management products. The scope of work includes: 1) a comprehensive literature review to synthesize current knowledge about the interaction between women's menstrual management practices and sanitation systems, 2) detailed case studies in two urban locations, and 3) a randomized product dissemination and demand trial where women will be offered to opportunity to test and then choose among alternative menstrual management products.

Goal(s):
This study aims to understand:

• The experiences of women in managing their menstrual periods, including the products that they use, their perceptions of the sanitation facilities they use, and how their periods may impact their daily routines.
• Women’s preferences for alternative menstrual management products that may have less impact on sanitation systems.
• The influence of women’s social networks on product adoption and other behaviours.

Objectives:

• Synthesize the state of current knowledge through a review of the literature on women’s perceptions and cultural beliefs around menstruation, and menstrual practices.
• Understand the impact of menstrual practices on sanitation systems through a global survey of sanitation managers.
• Document how menstrual products are disposed of in two contexts: Durban, South Africa and Bihar, India.
• Investigate the acceptability of a reusable silicon menstrual cup among adult women in two contexts: Durban, South Africa and Bihar, India. Understand determinants of, and barriers to, product experimentation and continued use, including experience of peers.
• Test how prior use of a disposable menstrual product (sanitary pads) affects demand for a reusable product (the menstrual cup) through a randomized controlled trial in Bihar, India.

Start and end date: February 2011 – July 2014
Funding for this research currently ongoing? yes
Grant type: "Other", i.e. neither RTTC nor GCE

Research or implementation partners:
PATH, Stockholm Environment Institute, Columbia University, Wits Health Consortium, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of KwaZulu-Natal

Links, further readings – results to date:
See attached preliminary findings from India and South Africa:




Presentation at 16th SuSanA meeting: www.susana.org/images/documents/04-meeti...o-kjlellen-ssmhm.pdf

Journal articles:

• Sommer, Marni, Marianne Kjellen, and Chibesa Pensulo. “Girls’ and Women’s Unmet Needs for Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM): The Interactions between MHM and Sanitation Systems in Low-Income Countries”, accepted for publication by Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
• Sebastian, Ashwini, Vivian Hoffmann, and Sarah Adelman, “Menstrual Management in Low Income Countries: Needs and Trends”, forthcoming in April 2013 issue of Waterlines

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I am interested in hearing your questions and comments on this research? Has anyone got similar interests?

(I am aware that on the forum there is a whole category on MHM (menstrual hygiene management) here: forum.susana.org/forum/categories/24-men...giene-management-mhm. The reason why my post is here and not there is because in this category here all 80+ research grants of the BMGF are being introduced in 2013).


Regards,
Vivian

Vivian Hoffmann
Assistant Professor
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
www.arec.umd.edu/people/faculty/vivian-hoffmann