Aboriginal Women’s Experiences with Menstrual Health, Menstrual Hygiene and Health Care Engagement

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Menstrual health and hygiene are important to address both nationally and internationally for women’s health equity, due to the known impacts on social participation, health and well-being, and the barriers that women who are from marginalized, or minority groups experience in accessing menstrual health resources and management. Evidence is scarce globally regarding the sociocultural influences on experiences of menstruation for Aboriginal women in Australia. This qualitative study utilized two yarning groups, separated according to younger and older age groups, conducted with 20 participants to explore the experiences of menstruation and engagement with healthcare providers for Aboriginal women in a metropolitan setting in Perth, Western Australia. The women’s lived experiences highlighted the social and well-being impacts of menstruation, the generational and life course differences in experiences of menstruation, and the importance of implementing holistic approaches to support and address barriers to menstrual care and promote well-being. These findings can inform the international knowledge base surrounding sociocultural influences on menstruation and directions for place-based development of menstrual well-being resources. Additionally, women’s health policy in Australia should account for the culturally specific and diverse needs of Aboriginal women related to menstrual health.