P3.176: Period Poverty: A Quantitative Study Among Youth in Cameron and Harris Counties in Texas

Background: Period poverty refers to the lack of access to menstrual health tools and education. It represents a significant inequity with detrimental effects on the physical, social, and mental well-being of menstruators. Although much of the existing literature focuses on low and middle-resource countries, recent studies highlight comparable concern in high-resource countries like the United States. Further, research indicates that there are disparities in access to menstrual health needs, which disproportionately impact minorities and economically and housing-insecure women. To date there is limited literature about menstruators younger than 13 years of age. This study aims to contribute to the literature by assessing the impact of period poverty on menstruators between ages 9 and 18 in Cameron and Harris Counties, Texas.

Methods: An in-person survey was conducted across three pediatric clinics in Brownsville and Houston, Texas, with a sample (n = 58) of females between the ages of 9 and 18 years to estimate the prevalence of period poverty in Texas. Period poverty was assessed via four questions adapted from previous studies measuring the same. Descriptive statistics and bivariate chi-square tests were utilized for analysis. The study received Institutional Review Board approval from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (HSC-SPH-24-0109).

Results: Overall, 36.4% of youth in this sample experienced some facet of period poverty. Nearly one fifth (22.4%) of youth faced difficulty accessing period products in the past 12 months. Further, 8.6% were unable to change their menstrual hygiene products as often as necessary throughout their last menstrual cycle. More than half (54.4%) of youth were not able to access menstrual hygiene products at school, and 96.4% of respondents agreed that schools should provide menstrual hygiene products at no cost to their students. Additionally, roughly 1 in 10 (12.1%) menstruators did not know about menstruation prior to their first cycle, and 83% of respondents endorsed the inclusion of menstrual health education in schools. Living in a Spanish-speaking household, compared to an English-speaking household, was significantly associated with having sufficient quantity of period products throughout a cycle (97.7% vs. 73.3%, p = 0.004) and knowing about menstruation prior to menarche (93% vs. 73.3%, p = 0.04). Most youth (98.3%) had access to adequate sanitation facilities within their primary home.

Conclusion: Period poverty is an evitable inequity with individual and societal repercussions. It represents apathy for health and human rights, and its elimination requires multiple stakeholders.