Fort Worth Medical Students Address Period Poverty With Supply Drive

FORT WORTH – Medical Students at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine are helping young girls in Fort Worth break the stigma of talking about their menstrual cycle.

“We really want to get young girls acclimated to that word and not whispering it,” said Juhi Shah, a third-year medical student at TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “Really creating an open space for them to talk about it with us and tackle the stigma around those words.”

Shah and her classmates at the medical school in the Obstetrics & Gynecology Student Interest Group (OB-GYN SIG) launched the inaugural Period Supply Drive this past summer.

The group collected more than 5,000 female personal care items through a curated Amazon Wishlist and in-person drop-off donations between May 24 and July 9.

The group did not put any limitations of the type of female personal care item that could be donated, Shah said.

“We’re so happy we got a few menstrual cups in the donation because we really want the younger generation to be comfortable with them,” Shah said. “Being able to acclimate them will be so beneficial because it’s so environmentally friendly and healthier for your body and there are less complications with them.”

Karena Fassett, a third-year medical student, said that she was thrilled by the level of support for this initiative from the Fort Worth community and the medical school.

“I’m really happy for the support for this being our first drive,” Fassett said. “I’ve talked to people in the community and they’ve given us advice on really reaching out to local businesses and asking for their participation as well as we continue to grow and expand the initiative.”

The phenomenon of “period poverty” or inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and education has been studied by physicians and researchers for quite a while.

Studies have shown that period poverty has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic in marginalized communities all across America, according to the American Medical Association.

Period poverty has also been an issue in North Texas as well.

“It’s something I’m learning my Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship rotations in OB-GYN is that you can’t assume that people already know how to use these supplies,” Fassett said. “It’s something we see really common in clinic. It’s younger girls coming in thinking they can’t use tampons and it turns out they’ve never been taught to use them properly.”

The group plans to create mini personal care item bags and donate them to community centers in the COMO, Northside/Diamond Hill and Stop 6 neighborhoods in Fort Worth that are a part of the school of medicine’s Learning Communities.

They will distribute the personal care bags during educational seminars at the community centers in the various neighborhoods this year.

“There is such a huge need in those communities,” Shah said. “When we go there they have such limited resources and they don’t have enough information about the medical complications that could happen if you leave a Tampon in for too long or what happens if you use a dirty rag or cloth instead of a pad. We want to be that resource and help them understand how this is also preventative care as well.”