Empowering women in rural Nepal: evaluating the impact of sustainable hygienic sanitary pad provision on menstrual health and quality of life

Women in rural Nepal face societal stigma while menstruating, which can have a detrimental impact on their quality of life (QoL). Improving access to sustainable and culturally appropriate sanitary products has been shown to be effective in improving women’s reproductive health in many other low-income countries. This study evaluated the impact of a reusable sanitary towel product, on quality of life of women living in rural Nepal using a mixed-methods study. The data collection survey consisted of two parts- Bristol LUTS-QoL validated questionnaire, with an additional section for assessment of menstrual symptoms. Qualitative data such as patient feedback on FKB uses, obtained from the open-ended questions were analysed thematically. Forty randomly selected women with mean age of 31 years (SD = 10.12) participated in this study. The mean score for the menstrual QoL and urinary QoL questionnaire was 25.45 (SD = 7.11, p < 0.05) and 23.67 (SD = 16.93, p < 0.05), respectively, suggesting low to moderate positive impacts of menstrual and urinary symptoms on QoL for FKB users. The key themes identified included increased comfort during daily activities, reduced menstrual and urinary symptom burden, and improved quality of life. Our study findings suggest that FKB may be a beneficial intervention for managing menstrual and urinary symptoms in rural Nepalese women.