Menstrual dignity: qualitative analysis menstrual health

The PLOS ONE study PLOS ONE (Alam & Al-Mamun, published July 24, 2026) found that structural-environmental constraints, socio-cultural stigma, and gendered inequities jointly shape menstrual experiences in Khulna Railway Slum.

• Data collection occurred between 01/09/2025 and 31/10/2025 and included 18 in-depth interviews (IDIs) and 5 key informant interviews (KIIs), according to the PLOS ONE article published July 24, 2026.
• The PLOS ONE study reported participants aged 15–45 years, with 39% in the 20–30 age band and 67% married, which highlights age and household-role patterns reported in the dataset.
• Participants in the PLOS ONE study described water cuts, shared toilets without doors, and hidden disposal practices; one participant said, “When water stops coming from the tap, I wait for hours. If it doesn’t come, I can’t clean myself properly” (IDI-08, Housewife), illustrating how WASH failures translate into daily indignity.

The PLOS ONE study directly asked how women and adolescent girls experience menstruation within Khulna’s informal settlements and analyzed the answers using thematic methods.

According to the PLOS ONE article published July 24, 2026, data were collected between 01/09/2025 and 31/10/2025 via 18 in-depth interviews with women aged 15–45 and 5 key informant interviews, and transcripts were translated and coded using NVivo v12 as described in the Methods section of the PLOS ONE article.

According to the PLOS ONE article published July 24, 2026, the authors used a Feminist Political Ecology framework and a combined inductive-deductive thematic analysis to identify three core domains: structural-environmental constraints, socio-cultural stigma, and gendered inequities in access to menstrual resources.

Answer: Qualitative researchers should treat menstrual health as a socio-environmental phenomenon, not only a biological one, and design methods accordingly.

According to the PLOS ONE article published July 24, 2026, the study shows that MHH problems in Khulna combine WASH failures, stigma, and poverty, which means researchers should collect layered contextual data (infrastructure, social norms, and household economics) rather than single-dimension surveys.

According to the PLOS ONE article published July 24, 2026, adolescent girls reported missed school and social exclusion, so program teams should measure outcomes beyond product uptake (for example, school attendance, dignity, and safety).

According to the PLOS ONE article published July 24, 2026, disposal practices and privacy concerns emerged as program-relevant themes, indicating that interventions should include waste systems and lighting/locks for shared toilets.

According to the PLOS ONE article published July 24, 2026, menstrual dignity in Khulna’s informal settlements is constrained by WASH gaps, stigma, and poverty, and addressing those issues requires integrated infrastructure, education, and product access.

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