A content analysis of freely available menstrual education resources in Australia

Abstract

Background: Sexual and reproductive health education is central to both international and national public health policy and priority action areas. However, menstruation education remains peripheral in both policy and school curricula. This article aims to investigate the extent and depth of menstruation education in Australia available outside of mainstream education channels. Methods: We conducted an inductive content analysis of publicly available Australian sexual and reproductive health educational resources targeting young menstruators and parents, which at least mentioned menstruation. Resources were accessed via a desktop search (using Google) to ensure that they were accessible to the public and were provided by not-for-profit or government organisations. Results: We identified a total of 31 resources from 10 organisations and subjected them to conventional content analysis. Our inductive coding process focused on the extent and depth of menstruation content. The main content areas included a discussion of pads and tampons, menarche, period pains, when to see a doctor and pre-menstrual syndrome. Three key themes were identified across the resources: holism, normalisation and managing menstruation. Conclusions: We develop recommendations for organisations developing or improving their menstruation resources and offer future direction for sexual and reproductive health policy and education in Australia that is inclusive of menstruation. The recommendations relate to the three themes identified during the analysis and include concepts such as recognising the biological changes that come with menstruation, variation of menstruation experiences, normality and assumptions about menstruation and menstrual hygiene management.