PMID- 37773141 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20231002 LR - 20231119 IS - 1475-9276 (Electronic) IS - 1475-9276 (Linking) VI - 22 IP - 1 DP - 2023 Sep 29 TI - Spatiotemporal change in socioeconomic inequality in hygienic menstrual product use among adolescent girls in India during 2015-2019. PG - 202 LID - 10.1186/s12939-023-02020-3 [doi] LID - 202 AB - BACKGROUND: The use of hygienic products, such as sanitary napkins, tampons, and menstrual cups, to absorb menstrual blood is vital for the health and well-being of adolescent girls in India. However, the degree of inequity in the use of such products among this subpopulation remains inadequately explored. To fill this critical knowledge gap, this study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of hygienic product use among adolescent girls in India from 2015 to 2020. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from 117,749 to 114,839 adolescent girls aged 15-19, obtained from two consecutive rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted in India during 2015-16 and 2019-21. Our approach involved utilizing Erreygers' Concentration Index (ECI) and Concentration Curve to quantitatively assess and visually represent socioeconomic inequality in hygienic product usage. Additionally, we investigated the spatiotemporal variation in this inequality over the study period and decomposed the ECI to identify the key contributing factors. RESULTS: The findings reveal that hygienic product usage among adolescent girls in India has increased by 13 percentage points (PP), from 37% in 2015-16 to 50% in 2019-21. This increase is also visible across all household wealth quintiles. However, the bottom quintiles experienced a greater rise (+ 15 to 16 PP) than the top quintile (+ 8 PP). During the study period, the ECI reduced marginally, from 0.48 in 2015-16 to 0.43 in 2019-21. However, the extent of this reduction varied across different states. The greatest reduction in ECI was recorded in Punjab (-0.23 points), Telangana (-0.16 points), and West Bengal (-0.14 points). In contrast, there were a number of states with high socioeconomic inequality (ECI > 0.30) in 2015-16, where inequality reduction was minimal (< 0.05 points) over the study period. This included more developed states of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat and relatively less developed states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam. Some states, such as Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, recorded an increase in socioeconomic inequality over the study period, with ECI rising to 0.31 and 0.46 (highest in the country) in 2019-21. The decomposition analysis revealed that the inequality in using hygienic products was primarily explained by place of residence, exposure to mass-media, education, and region of residence. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest the need for targeted policies to reduce existing socioeconomic inequality in the usage of hygienic products among adolescent girls in India. Specifically, interventions should target regions with low use of hygienic products, economically disadvantaged groups, and poor and vulnerable populations. State-specific policies and programs are also necessary to address the disparities in socioeconomic inequality. Additionally, efforts to reduce inequality should address the underlying factors contributing to inequality. CI - (c) 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature. FAU - Chakrabarty, Mahashweta AU - Chakrabarty M AD - Department of Geography, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. FAU - Singh, Aditya AU - Singh A AD - Department of Geography, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. AD - GIRL Center, Population Council, NY, USA. FAU - Singh, Shivani AU - Singh S AD - Uttar Pradesh Technical Support Unit, India Health Action Trust, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. FAU - Tripathi, Pooja AU - Tripathi P AD - Department of Geography, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. tripathipooja0048@gmail.com. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20230929 PL - England TA - Int J Equity Health JT - International journal for equity in health JID - 101147692 SB - IM MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Adolescent MH - *Menstrual Hygiene Products MH - Cross-Sectional Studies MH - India MH - Socioeconomic Factors MH - *Hygiene PMC - PMC10543847 OTO - NOTNLM OT - Adolescent health OT - Economic inequality OT - Erreygers' concentration index OT - Health inequality OT - Hygienic products OT - Menstrual health and hygiene OT - Menstrual hygiene management OT - Socioeconomic inequality COIS- The authors declare no competing interests. EDAT- 2023/09/29 18:42 MHDA- 2023/10/02 06:42 PMCR- 2023/09/29 CRDT- 2023/09/29 12:17 PHST- 2023/03/06 00:00 [received] PHST- 2023/09/19 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2023/10/02 06:42 [medline] PHST- 2023/09/29 18:42 [pubmed] PHST- 2023/09/29 12:17 [entrez] PHST- 2023/09/29 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - 10.1186/s12939-023-02020-3 [pii] AID - 2020 [pii] AID - 10.1186/s12939-023-02020-3 [doi] PST - epublish SO - Int J Equity Health. 2023 Sep 29;22(1):202. doi: 10.1186/s12939-023-02020-3.