Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2024
Period Product Insecurity Is Increasing in the United States: Trends from 2018 to 2021.
Background: Data documenting period product insecurity, or an inability to access products, in the United States have recently emerged. With multiple years of data now available, we assessed trends in period product insecurity among two nationally representative samples of U. S. adults. ⋯ Participants struggling to purchase products had higher odds of experiencing period product insecurity in 2018 (aOR 11.78, 95% CI: 8.07-17.20) and 2021 (aOR 7.71, 95% CI: 5.44-10.93). Conclusions: Hispanic ethnicity, lower educational attainment, and struggling to purchase period products were strong predictors of finding products unaffordable and experiencing product insecurity in both 2018 and 2021. Policies that improve access to or affordability of period products in the United States are needed to help those most vulnerable.