Jasmine Warren, Psychology PhD student at the Institute of Population Health was recently awarded a Wellcome Trust Public Engagement grant to engage and empower the public in women's health research.
Jasmine explains what motivated her to work in this field and how she is engaging with multiple organisations aiming to dispel embarrassment and share knowledge about the subject.
Background
Through my teenage years I experienced gynaecological issues which were very confusing, daunting, and embarrassing. As a result of these experiences, I had a lot of questions about women’s health. One example that comes to mind is “what happens if we are using hormonal contraception? And, does the egg supply remain constant?”.
I am now working in the field of women’s health at the Institute of Population Health. My research is specifically focused on the question of whether the menstrual cycle affects alcohol use.
The more I learned about the menstrual cycle as a researcher, the more I realised how little information I had been able to access when experiencing problems in this area for so many years!
Now I can talk about the menstrual cycle and menstruation (periods) more openly and no longer feel embarrassed however I understand not everybody feels this way and many don't get the opportunity to even have conversations, ask questions or learn about the menstrual cycle adequately.
Research
As part of my work, I've collected data from menstruators about their experiences, which confirmed that others were in the same position as I'd been, and were having to find - possibly dubious - information about menstruation on the internet because they felt too much shame or embarrassment when talking about the subject.
I wanted to combat menstrual myths and also tackle the social stigma that exists - even in 2022, around periods to improve women's health.
The Menstrual Matters public engagement event
And so, thanks to the Wellcome Trust Public Engagement grant the Menstrual Health Matters Event was borne. We are engaging the public and empowering women to access, use and participate in health research and innovation by starting these dialogues between family and friends, bringing the correct information out into the community - and most of all, finding ways of making it fun!
Staff and students from the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital came together to create this public engagement event which took place at the World Museum in Liverpool city centre on Saturday 20 August 2022 and was open to people of all ages.
At the event there were various stands and activities which have been developed to engage people of all ages including:
- Tampon-tastic
- The big mood board
- What menstruators want
- Menstrual sustainability
There will were also information packs provided tailored for different ages.
So, if you’re wanting to learn more about the menstrual cycle, perhaps engage in some research or if you’re wanting to start talking more openly about the menstrual cycle you can follow @Jasmine_Grace_ on Twitter.
You can also read about Jasmine talking about her first paper here - what was significant about it for her, how she would explain her research to her grandparents and also her tips to other researchers drafting their own first paper. Jasmine is also Editor in Chief at @PsychLiverpool