Launching third menstrual equity study!

In addition to her research on environmental and gynecologic health, Dr. Kristen Upson is advising a research team of medical students in the College of Osteopathic Medicine. The research team is launching a study to understand the unmet needs of MSU graduate and professional degree students who menstruate (see flyer below). Menstrual periods may pose an additional challenge on top of existing financial stressors and academic pressure for those pursuing graduate and professional degrees.

 

This is the third study focused on key aspects of menstrual equity – provision of free menstrual products, access to safe and private bathrooms, and menstrual health education - for which Dr. Upson has served as a research mentor. The first study was conducted last spring by leaders of the student-led MSU advocacy group, Mission Menstruation, who worked with university leaders to adopt a policy in February 2023 to provide free menstrual products in select bathrooms on the MSU East Lansing campus. The study examined the impact of that policy on menstrual management and wellbeing of those who menstruate at MSU. The other study was led by a high school student in NY State to understand the unmet needs of high school students who menstruate. Abstracts of the research findings from the first two studies were recently submitted for presentation at the fifth annual conference of the Menstruation Research Network being held July 2026 in the UK.