Progress toward global literature contributions about menstruation and vaginal health

We are publishing nine studies about menstruation and genital health. While publishing them is valuable, I wish we were further along in our joint efforts to contribute to global literature.

The first three articles are about menstrual product advertisements. While authors of the three papers make theoretical contributions, they acknowledge when stating their limitations that the manuscripts do not meet the threshold required to make a global contribution to literature. The study by Danting Liu, et al. should not be generalized beyond students from a private university in the United States. In reviewing the positions of stakeholders in Korea, Yanghee Kim makes a bold claim that the lack of respect by policy makers for feminist advocates leads to limited consideration of scientific research when businesses create advertisements for menstrual products. Her research is quite important but limited to South Korea. The contribution of Adriana S. Mucedola and Andrea M. Smith about advertisements not depicting the experience of menstruating women over the age of 30 is limited to their small sample within the United States.

The next two manuscripts include practice contributions to the Turkish literature on treating dysmenorrhea. Nurcan Kirca and AslıSis Celik demonstrate the value of yoga to relieve pain while the findings of Ozturk, et al. allow them to suggest that massage was effective in reducing abdominal, back pain, and weakness, and exercise was effective on mood change. These studies also are sound papers but are not generalizable to global audiences.

The manuscript by N. Lansbury and Minnie King is published because of the collaboration between a researcher and participants in an indigenous Australian community. We know so little about this population that including this manuscript is warranted. Read it to learn more about yarning, a method the authors assert is useful in getting students to participate in dialog about menstruation.

The manuscript by Gouvernet and colleagues comes closest to making a global contribution, perhaps because the hypothesis generated in this French study has “face validity.” The COVID-19 pandemic has been experienced globally. In any case, the hypothesis that limited access to menstrual products (menstrual poverty) leads to increased psychological distress as measured by anxiety and depression can be tested elsewhere, even in the absence of a pandemic.

The final papers on genital health include practice contributions. Sidar Gül and Yurdagül Yağmur present the value of a web-based curriculum in Turkey to teach orthopedically impaired women with limited access to face-to-face classrooms how to clean their genital area. Italian researchers Filippo Murina, et al. present clinical experimental findings to assert the value of a particular wash containing acid pH thymol and zinc to clean the genital region. While these studies are informative, they too require much replication in diverse environments before we can say they make global literature contributions.

Please examine the table of literature contributions. Next, read and learn from each manuscript. Then, attempt to replicate the research or submit a commentary to contribute to our global literature.

Table

Health Issue	Authors	International Literature Contribution	Extent of Global Contribution	Research Location
Menstrual Products	Danting Liu, et al.	Theoretical Contribution: Over time, menstrual product advertisements are depicting less shame and femininity, greater presence of men in the menstrual process; and 3) moving toward more racial, gender, and body-type inclusivity.	Participants (students in one private US university) were not representative of the audience exposed to ads. A global contribution would require international advertisements analyzed by an international audience.	United States
Menstrual Products	Yanghee Kim	Theoretical Contribution: Negative relationship and lack of trust between government officials and feminist advocates contributes to less reliance on science in the development of menstrual products.	Hypothesis of lack of trust between feminist advocates and government officials leading to less reliance on science must be tested elsewhere for global contribution.	Korea
Menstrual Products	Adriana S. Mucedola and Andrea M. Smith	Theoretical Contribution: Menstrual product advertisements in the United States are examples of misogyny and target women less than 30 years old.	Findings were limited to small sample of adult women living in the United States. A global contribution would require international participants.	United States
Dysmenorrhea	Nurcan Kirca and Aslı Sis Celik	Theoretical Contribution: Yoga is useful to relieve menstrual pain. Practice Contribution: Yoga can be used as an effective intervention in reducing menstrual pain in women with primary dysmenorrhea.	Experimental design allows for nursing practice contribution with Turkish student sample; intervention should be replicated globally & tested with practitioners other than nurses.	Turkey
Dysmenorrhea	Nazan Ozturk, et al.	Practice Contribution: In single-blind clinical trial researchers demonstrated that massage was effective in reducing abdominal- back pain and weakness, and exercise was effective on mood change.	Findings limited to Turkish sample; study could be replicated for global contribution.	Turkey
Menstrual Health	N. Lansbury and Minnie King	Theoretical Contribution: Menstruation considered “women’s business.” Methodological Contribution: Through the method of yarning a dialog about menstruation is facilitated with young women.	Results limited to an Australian indigenous sample. A global contribution methodological contribution would require yarning to be used by researchers elsewhere to test whether the method facilitates dialog among young women about menstruation.	Australia
Menstrual Product access	B. Gouvernet, et. al.	Theoretical Contribution: A relationship exists between menstrual poverty, i.e., limited access to menstrual products, and psychological suffering (anxiety and depression). Relationship was exacerbated during COVID-19 pandemic.	Findings are limited to French sample but are globally relevant during COVID pandemic.	France
Genital Hygiene	Sidar Gül and Yurdagül Yağmur	Practice Contribution: A web-based genital hygiene education provided to women with orthopedic disability was found be an effective method to support genital hygiene behaviors in terms of protecting sexual health of participants.	Experimental design with Turkish participants allows authors to make a nursing practice contribution. Study should be replicated globally & tested with practitioners other than nurses.	Turkey
Vaginal Health	Filippo Murina, et al.	Practice Contribution: With a clinical controlled experiment researchers demonstrated acid pH thymol and zinc-containing cleansing wash ameliorates vulvovaginal candidiasis associated pruritus as part of a female hygiene regimen.	Contribution should not be generalized globally, but hypothesis can be tested elsewhere for global contribution.	Italy

Eleanor Krassen Covan, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
February 28, 2023
[email protected]