Location
Philadelphia, PA
Start Date
17-4-2026 1:30 PM
End Date
17-4-2026 2:30 PM
Description
INTRODUCTION: Many school-aged menstruators across the United States are not required to learn how to maintain their periods. As a result, adolescents may struggle to obtain reliable healthcare information, maintain their periods safely, and access healthcare services if they recognize abnormalities.
OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to assess the barriers and facilitators to seeking clinical care for period-related concerns among young adults in North Carolina.
METHODS: 19 female participants between the ages of 18 and 25 were interviewed for this qualitative study using a convenience sampling approach. Participants attended North Carolina Public Schools from 4th to 12th grades, and currently reside in Pitt, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Wake, Durham, and Orange counties. An in-depth interview guide was used to collect information regarding the participants’ experience with and understanding of periods throughout adolescence and early adulthood. Transcripts were analyzed with NVivo 12. A codebook was developed using both deductive codes derived from the interview guides and inductive codes from narrative summaries created from transcripts. Relevant themes were analyzed by developing matrices based on the code outputs, code summaries, and memos maintained by the team throughout the analytic process.
RESULTS: Preliminary findings reveal that multiple participants experience severe pain and discomfort while menstruating, and participants face social and environmental barriers that prevent them from seeking medical care for their periods. Namely, the normalization of period pain, poor health literacy, and stigma surrounding periods prevented some participants from seeking clinical care for their periods. Additionally, logistical factors like insurance and a lack of societal accommodation for periods attributed to delays in accessing health care.
Despite these barriers, positive social support and access to care seemed to alleviate some of the difficulties facing participants. Specifically, positive family support, supportive physician attitudes, and an individual “growth mindset” about periods proved to be important in continuing health seeking behaviors over time.
CONCLUSION: These findings highlight a need to improve menstrual health education and support at a social and environmental level. By providing support and educational resources to menstruators, they can better understand the healthcare resources available to them and seek help from a healthcare professional without delay.
Embargo Period
6-2-2026
Included in
Barriers and facilitators to seeking clinical care for period-related pain in North Carolina
Philadelphia, PA
INTRODUCTION: Many school-aged menstruators across the United States are not required to learn how to maintain their periods. As a result, adolescents may struggle to obtain reliable healthcare information, maintain their periods safely, and access healthcare services if they recognize abnormalities.
OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to assess the barriers and facilitators to seeking clinical care for period-related concerns among young adults in North Carolina.
METHODS: 19 female participants between the ages of 18 and 25 were interviewed for this qualitative study using a convenience sampling approach. Participants attended North Carolina Public Schools from 4th to 12th grades, and currently reside in Pitt, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Wake, Durham, and Orange counties. An in-depth interview guide was used to collect information regarding the participants’ experience with and understanding of periods throughout adolescence and early adulthood. Transcripts were analyzed with NVivo 12. A codebook was developed using both deductive codes derived from the interview guides and inductive codes from narrative summaries created from transcripts. Relevant themes were analyzed by developing matrices based on the code outputs, code summaries, and memos maintained by the team throughout the analytic process.
RESULTS: Preliminary findings reveal that multiple participants experience severe pain and discomfort while menstruating, and participants face social and environmental barriers that prevent them from seeking medical care for their periods. Namely, the normalization of period pain, poor health literacy, and stigma surrounding periods prevented some participants from seeking clinical care for their periods. Additionally, logistical factors like insurance and a lack of societal accommodation for periods attributed to delays in accessing health care.
Despite these barriers, positive social support and access to care seemed to alleviate some of the difficulties facing participants. Specifically, positive family support, supportive physician attitudes, and an individual “growth mindset” about periods proved to be important in continuing health seeking behaviors over time.
CONCLUSION: These findings highlight a need to improve menstrual health education and support at a social and environmental level. By providing support and educational resources to menstruators, they can better understand the healthcare resources available to them and seek help from a healthcare professional without delay.