1 in 3 teens can't get tampons or pads during their periods, study finds
A third of teens and young adults in the U.S. can’t afford or otherwise access menstrual products, according to new research from Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
A third of teens and young adults in the U.S. can’t afford or otherwise access menstrual products, according to new research from Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
The study found that “period poverty” — that is, insufficient access to menstrual hygiene products and related education — appears to affect young people equally, despite differences in race, ethnicity, neighborhood or whether they have health insurance.
“We were really surprised by how widespread of an issue this is,” said Dr. Monika Goyal, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist and co-director of the Center for Translational Research at Children’s National.
Goyal and her colleagues are scheduled to present their findings, which have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday.
For the study, the researchers surveyed 1,816 young people ages 13 to 21 who came into the emergency room at Children’s National from mid-January of this year through the end of June.
Rating: 5