Managing menstruation while deployed operationally: experiences from the Australian emergency management sector

Abstract

The circumstances faced during emergency incidents are characteristically physical, situational or time-critical, but little is known about how people manage their periods in these extreme settings. This study examined the attitudes, experiences and practices of managing menstruation by emergency services personnel in Australia while deployed operationally. Using a mixed-methods approach, a survey (n=287) collected data about operational roles, period characteristics, period management during operations and period stigmatisation. The findings show that navigating and solving the intersections between periods and the demanding circumstances of deployment is given substantial consideration by people who menstruate. Participants actively found solutions to the various routines, etiquettes and discomforts of menstruation to maintain service to their operational roles, despite problematic influences of period character and menstrual symptoms, menstrual products, hygiene, toileting, privacy and stigmatisation. Such self- determination suggests identity formation as competent first responders who also menstruate. However, externalities of menstruation that could be better accommodated in operational settings include toileting, bodily hygiene, field privacy, menstrual product supplies, used product disposal or cleaning, support, education and training. Attention to menstrual health in workplaces is increasing and should become a normalised aspect of emergency services.