Popular in Professional

Leading Figures

Induction of Social Contagion

Yale University Nicholas A. Christakis

Business

The Allegory of the Favela: The Multifaceted Effects of Socioeconomic Mobility

University of Pennsylvania Leandro S. Pongeluppe

Architecture

Connecting Cities and Nature

University of Virginia Timothy Beatley

Human Rights Law

Human Rights and Corruption: Problems and Potential of Individualising a Systemic Problem

Max Planck Institute Anne Peters

Finance

Chinese Exchange Rate Policy: Lessons for Global Investors

University of California San Diego Michael Melvin

Law

A statistical approach to law school citation rankings

University of Virginia Joshua Fischman

Education

A socio-ecological perspective on menstrual health management

View more insights in Professional - Business - Management

View more figures from University of York

View the page of Federica Angeli

Read the Study

Next in Business

Do Investors Value Workforce Gender Diversity?

David P. Daniels | National University of Singapore

Design of Patient Visit Itineraries in Tandem Systems

Nan Liu | Boston College

Federica Angeli’s socio-ecological paradigm determines if a product’s low environmental impact boosts low-income women’s sanitary napkin use, alleviating poverty and protecting the environment.

Image courtesy of interviewee. January 24, 2024

Log-in or Sign-up to Faculti
Currently viewing this subject insight as a guest. You have insight(s) remaining for this month. Login to view 8000+ figures on the platform.

Generating Workspace...

Export as PDF

This video video discusses a study focused on menstrual health and its impact on women's lives, particularly in Bangladesh and Nepal where significant numbers of women miss school and work due to menstruation-related issues. The study identifies key problems including a lack of awareness, poor health literacy, and inadequate access to hygienic menstrual products, leading to health risks and economic repercussions for women.

The importance of menstrual health management is highlighted, with socio-cultural factors influencing the choice of products. The environmental impact of menstrual product disposal is also addressed, noting that a large volume of these products contributes to waste in countries like the UK and India. The current market for menstrual products is influenced heavily by Western consumption patterns, which may not align with local needs and customs.

The researchers advocate for a socio-ecological approach to develop solutions that are effective and culturally appropriate. They suggest that understanding women's needs through qualitative research and embedding community voices into product development can lead to better outcomes.

Findings from the study indicate that biodegradable products are particularly preferred by women in resource-constrained settings, highlighting the importance of affordability, product effectiveness, and social acceptability. The study calls for education and policy changes to improve menstrual health management, emphasizing the importance of creating stigma-free environments and integrating community input into product and service design.

Overall, the text underscores the interconnectedness of menstrual health, environmental sustainability, and socioeconomic conditions, urging a comprehensive approach to addressing these challenges through co-creation and consideration of local contexts.

Language:

Export as PDF

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

00:00.495 --> 00:04.155
The context of this study relates to the crucial impact

00:04.295 --> 00:05.395
of menstrual health

00:05.575 --> 00:08.035
and menstrual health management on the livelihood

00:08.035 --> 00:11.675
of women in this context, actually, up to 50%

00:11.675 --> 00:12.915
of women in Bangladesh,

00:13.055 --> 00:17.995
and 66% of women in Nepal according to UNICEF statistics,

00:18.775 --> 00:20.995
miss out on everyday activities.

00:21.175 --> 00:23.835
So school and work because of their menstrual cycle.

00:24.335 --> 00:25.955
And this is because of lack of awareness,

00:26.185 --> 00:27.395
poor health literacy,

00:27.415 --> 00:30.315
and also unavailability of hygienic menstrual products,

00:30.805 --> 00:33.195
which lead to higher risk of,

00:33.205 --> 00:37.235
tract reproductive tract infection with an estimated 70%

00:37.235 --> 00:39.675
of them be associated with poor, has,

00:39.785 --> 00:41.195
menstrual health management.

00:42.015 --> 00:46.195
So infection deriving from improper use of plots leads

00:46.195 --> 00:48.315
to high likelihood of missing working days

00:48.345 --> 00:50.875
with heavy repercussion, of course, on these women,

00:51.455 --> 00:52.515
livelihood.

00:53.375 --> 00:55.195
In addition to then that there is a problem

00:55.195 --> 00:56.555
of misinformation really,

00:56.895 --> 00:59.875
and stigma attached to menstrual health

00:59.935 --> 01:03.555
and menstrual health management with only 3.1%

01:03.555 --> 01:05.675
and white one, 5%

01:05.675 --> 01:08.755
of women receiving information on menstruation from teachers

01:08.895 --> 01:11.195
and health workers respectively.

01:11.705 --> 01:15.915
Importantly though also from our point of view is the choice

01:16.095 --> 01:18.155
of menstrual health management.

01:18.665 --> 01:22.515
Because the choice of a product, the choice of a service,

01:23.735 --> 01:27.155
the purchasing act of a menstrual health product,

01:27.535 --> 01:30.835
is shaped the many different factors at community,

01:30.885 --> 01:33.555
individual, and environmental level, really

01:34.065 --> 01:37.475
with factors such as, you know, schooling, place

01:37.535 --> 01:41.235
of stay, the profession of the father, the cast,

01:41.295 --> 01:44.555
the access to media, the stigma, the community aspect,

01:44.655 --> 01:47.315
and all of that attached to this very simple

01:47.895 --> 01:50.035
or perceivably simple act

01:50.095 --> 01:52.595
of purchasing a menstrual products.

01:53.095 --> 01:56.835
Now, the third point of interest, in relation to the use

01:56.835 --> 02:01.115
of sanitary products in this setting, relates

02:01.135 --> 02:04.275
to the enormous environmental impact of menstrual health.

02:04.495 --> 02:08.955
The products really with only in the UK 200,000 tons

02:09.175 --> 02:12.915
of menstrual health products are disposed of every year.

02:13.615 --> 02:18.515
And in India, this number is 113,000 tons according to,

02:19.055 --> 02:22.795
I believe statistic of, of a couple of years ago.

02:23.295 --> 02:25.435
And this is the number is smaller,

02:25.615 --> 02:29.955
but we also need to think that only, 12% of women

02:30.095 --> 02:31.635
and mostly in urban context,

02:31.905 --> 02:35.835
that use menstrual health products while 88%

02:35.835 --> 02:40.195
of women still rely on products such as cloth,

02:40.775 --> 02:43.275
hay, ash and, and,

02:43.295 --> 02:46.995
and this kind of, solution for menstrual health, which,

02:47.255 --> 02:49.755
obviously are highly aging.

02:50.295 --> 02:51.835
So, so I'm a management scholar.

02:52.135 --> 02:53.435
Uh, I come from a business

02:53.435 --> 02:54.835
administration point of view really.

02:55.455 --> 02:57.595
Um, so we come to this from a base

02:57.595 --> 02:58.875
of the pyramid approach, which

02:58.875 --> 03:03.125
Is essentially a literature that goes to look at

03:03.265 --> 03:06.005
how business models can alleviate poverty.

03:06.905 --> 03:10.605
Uh, what we noticed, while following, my coauthor

03:10.665 --> 03:12.365
and I have been writing in the base

03:12.365 --> 03:14.125
of the pyramid literature for quite a while,

03:14.465 --> 03:18.245
and what we have noticed is that all the reflection

03:18.305 --> 03:21.485
and all the practice in the BOP literature looks

03:22.145 --> 03:23.645
at poverty alleviation in sort

03:23.645 --> 03:26.365
of isolation without looking at the environmental

03:26.365 --> 03:29.965
consequences of business model that are addressed

03:29.985 --> 03:31.245
to alleviate poverty.

03:31.945 --> 03:33.805
Now, this is a problem

03:33.805 --> 03:36.365
because understanding environmental sustainability

03:36.425 --> 03:39.805
of BOP initiative is crucial to the development

03:39.805 --> 03:41.845
of successful and sustainable BOP models,

03:42.435 --> 03:45.605
because environmental protection is closely linked

03:45.605 --> 03:47.685
to poverty in ways that are non trivium.

03:48.015 --> 03:49.885
First of all, if we impose

03:50.145 --> 03:54.805
or if we think about, developing consumeristic

03:54.865 --> 03:58.205
and western based consumption, models

03:58.825 --> 04:02.205
to low-income settings, this becomes entirely unsustainable.

04:02.945 --> 04:07.405
And also because we know that low-income communities,

04:07.405 --> 04:09.725
for example, slum communities, rural communities,

04:10.065 --> 04:13.285
do co-evolve with the natural

04:13.965 --> 04:18.565
resources in a much closer way than we do.

04:18.985 --> 04:22.845
So if we go to protect the environment, then you know, the,

04:22.945 --> 04:24.485
we can expect positives

04:24.495 --> 04:28.445
below this also in this community's wellbeing and,

04:29.145 --> 04:31.725
and developmental outcomes more in general.

04:32.585 --> 04:35.885
Um, so these are essentially, aspects

04:36.225 --> 04:37.965
and reasons,

04:38.545 --> 04:42.605
why we should be looking also at environmental environmental

04:42.605 --> 04:45.125
concerns and environmental implication of business model,

04:45.395 --> 04:49.805
even when they are, addressed at,

04:49.955 --> 04:51.005
alleviating poverty.

04:51.585 --> 04:53.765
In addition to that, poverty typically leads

04:53.825 --> 04:55.845
or may lead to environmental degradation.

04:55.905 --> 05:00.125
So by, so there are clearly synergies between

05:00.675 --> 05:02.485
environmental efforts

05:02.905 --> 05:04.365
and poverty alleviation efforts

05:04.365 --> 05:07.965
that haven't been really be looked at in, in the literature

05:08.065 --> 05:11.525
so far, but all that in the BOP approach.

05:11.665 --> 05:13.045
So based on the pyramid approach,

05:13.055 --> 05:17.645
especially in the latest iteration that follows a more,

05:17.895 --> 05:22.165
let's say, new commons kind of developments

05:22.275 --> 05:24.685
that looks at more the interaction, the dialogue

05:24.915 --> 05:28.925
between the ones who supposedly develop the service

05:29.065 --> 05:30.885
and the ones to receive the service.

05:31.575 --> 05:33.445
There is the idea of co-creation.

05:33.445 --> 05:35.565
There is the idea of embedding the voices

05:36.425 --> 05:40.365
of disenfranchised communities in the business model in new

05:40.365 --> 05:41.405
products and services,

05:41.635 --> 05:45.285
however, rarely these business models do.

05:45.285 --> 05:47.725
So because it is inherently difficult,

05:47.865 --> 05:49.605
it is inherently time consuming.

05:50.265 --> 05:54.125
Um, so what we propose here is

05:54.145 --> 05:56.845
to use a socioecological perspective, first of

05:56.845 --> 05:58.965
All, all to develop new products and services.

05:59.585 --> 06:04.165
And the sociological perspectives goes to understand how

06:04.745 --> 06:05.965
new products and services

06:06.145 --> 06:10.725
and the adopt the adoption of those is shaped by a multitude

06:10.745 --> 06:13.405
of factors at individual organizational,

06:14.355 --> 06:17.365
community policy, and institutional level,

06:18.145 --> 06:20.765
and those interdependencies there.

06:21.465 --> 06:25.805
So, by doing that, we have to,

06:26.295 --> 06:29.765
embed those voices and understand those needs in a much

06:29.765 --> 06:30.965
more holistic way.

06:31.625 --> 06:34.445
Uh, and that's where our contribution lies.

06:35.025 --> 06:36.965
So what we did initially is to do a bit

06:36.965 --> 06:38.845
of archival research.

06:39.185 --> 06:42.525
So we looked at, social media posts, we looked at,

06:42.525 --> 06:47.405
looked at press releases, we looked at, all kinds

06:47.405 --> 06:50.325
of reports in this space in India, also

06:50.325 --> 06:53.285
to gauge the narrative around menstrual health.

06:53.545 --> 06:56.925
And in fact, what we found is that a lot of it was

06:56.925 --> 07:01.285
around pads, was around, the use of sanitary pads, the,

07:01.625 --> 07:03.445
and which was particularly promoted

07:03.585 --> 07:06.925
by multinational corporations and by NGOs, which

07:06.925 --> 07:10.605
however, follows a bit of Western sort of, you know,

07:10.805 --> 07:12.165
pattern of consumption.

07:13.225 --> 07:16.565
Um, then we carried out seven,

07:17.255 --> 07:19.565
let's say exploratory interviews

07:19.835 --> 07:21.445
with people from these communities,

07:21.445 --> 07:22.925
with women from these communities.

07:23.825 --> 07:27.565
And that led us to identify a number of attributes

07:28.475 --> 07:30.525
that could just, of the product

07:30.795 --> 07:33.885
that could map on the socioecological perspective

07:33.985 --> 07:37.205
so they could map on the different levels of,

07:37.865 --> 07:39.285
our sociological model.

07:39.585 --> 07:42.125
And especially we consider product affordability,

07:42.335 --> 07:46.725
which reflects the family circumstances, women,

07:46.865 --> 07:48.845
the resource prioritization choices,

07:49.145 --> 07:51.485
and of course, the socioeconomic background.

07:52.145 --> 07:53.765
We looked at absorption power

07:53.865 --> 07:57.045
and reusability, which were used

07:57.045 --> 08:00.445
to operationalize perceived benefits, linked

08:00.465 --> 08:02.965
to potential individual background employment

08:02.965 --> 08:05.165
characteristics, but also to the possibility

08:05.165 --> 08:08.845
of reducing disposal occurrences that could be associated

08:08.845 --> 08:12.485
with safe safety or stigma concern, product

08:12.625 --> 08:17.285
by Degradability Degradability is the one that is being used

08:17.665 --> 08:21.365
to operationalize the environmental impact specifically.

08:21.465 --> 08:23.885
Now, obviously we explained to women

08:23.995 --> 08:26.885
what product biodegradable degradability could be

08:26.945 --> 08:28.565
or would be,

08:29.305 --> 08:31.245
and it was explained to the respondents

08:31.245 --> 08:32.485
as the product's capability

08:32.505 --> 08:35.725
to dissolve completely in nature without any adverse

08:35.725 --> 08:39.325
effects, while reusability was used

08:39.325 --> 08:41.565
to indicate the product's ability to be repeatedly

08:42.075 --> 08:43.085
used over time.

08:44.285 --> 08:47.205
And finally, importantly, familiarity with the seller.

08:47.835 --> 08:51.085
This was considered, this emerged from our,

08:51.145 --> 08:54.885
semi-structured interviews as the one product attribute that

08:54.885 --> 08:58.005
Could really embed, in its simplicity

08:58.515 --> 09:00.765
also the community effect, so the stigma

09:00.835 --> 09:02.085
that could be attached to it,

09:02.385 --> 09:04.565
and the, the community dynamics,

09:04.565 --> 09:08.685
also the gender dynamics within, within the community

09:08.715 --> 09:12.765
that could potentially, shape the product preferences

09:12.945 --> 09:14.925
and the purchasing, purchasing choices.

09:16.505 --> 09:18.845
Now, what did we do with these attributes?

09:19.465 --> 09:22.165
We obviously, we composed them.

09:22.265 --> 09:24.445
So we inputted all the attributes

09:24.465 --> 09:26.965
and all their levels into a software

09:27.065 --> 09:28.445
for statistical analysis.

09:28.945 --> 09:33.605
Now, these are, a number of attributes per the levels,

09:34.095 --> 09:38.005
which would result in 48 different profiles if you were

09:38.005 --> 09:39.125
to combine them all.

09:39.785 --> 09:42.045
Now, the software has been able to reduce them

09:42.145 --> 09:43.365
to eight profiles.

09:44.025 --> 09:47.885
And so that though each respondent was,

09:48.005 --> 09:52.045
administered seven questions only in which they had

09:52.045 --> 09:54.365
to choose essentially between one basic profile

09:54.705 --> 09:56.325
and one alternative profile.

09:57.145 --> 10:02.005
Um, ultimately our sample included 164 respondents from

10:02.425 --> 10:07.325
two different, slumps in, aaba, the new Delic.

10:07.905 --> 10:09.125
The results are quite interesting

10:09.305 --> 10:10.805
and to some extent counterintuitive

10:10.805 --> 10:11.805
because we found

10:12.315 --> 10:15.765
that pro product biodegradability is a crucial factor.

10:15.765 --> 10:19.125
Effective POP women's choice of sanitary products

10:19.265 --> 10:22.045
as biodegradable products are four times more likely

10:22.065 --> 10:24.205
to be purchased than non biodegradable ones.

10:24.985 --> 10:27.005
Uh, also BOP women

10:27.505 --> 10:28.965
or women in,

10:29.215 --> 10:33.205
let's say slum settings prefer highly absorbing products,

10:33.455 --> 10:35.525
especially if they're not single

10:35.745 --> 10:37.765
and if they live in larger households

10:38.225 --> 10:41.205
and prefer lower price cemetery products, in particular,

10:41.205 --> 10:42.645
if they are younger in age.

10:43.465 --> 10:46.445
Um, women often merge as predicted

10:46.445 --> 10:49.405
to be more comfortable in buying sanitary product from non

10:49.405 --> 10:51.405
sellers, especially if they're single

10:51.665 --> 10:53.365
and in small size households.

10:54.205 --> 10:56.685
Arguably because familiarity during the act

10:56.685 --> 10:58.885
of purchasing prevents women from being exposed

10:58.885 --> 11:00.805
to social segment or, or embarrassment.

11:01.405 --> 11:04.565
Interestingly, instead, for women in larger households,

11:04.955 --> 11:09.725
they seem to pre to, prefer buying products from non,

11:09.985 --> 11:11.365
familiar sellers.

11:11.705 --> 11:15.645
Our findings, indicate that though, you know,

11:15.855 --> 11:18.845
these women do prefer low price products.

11:19.035 --> 11:21.325
Affordability is not the most important

11:21.605 --> 11:22.805
determinant of their choices.

11:23.925 --> 11:26.165
It is therefore very important for organizational,

11:26.305 --> 11:28.605
but also policy makers,

11:28.745 --> 11:31.445
to not only aim at product affordability,

11:31.625 --> 11:34.365
that's not even the most important attributes,

11:34.465 --> 11:37.165
but also to take into account the availability,

11:37.275 --> 11:39.965
acceptability and awareness of the product

11:40.385 --> 11:42.885
as we demonstrated also in, in,

11:42.945 --> 11:44.205
in other types of research.

11:44.985 --> 11:47.005
In order to do so, I believe

11:47.005 --> 11:48.605
that this study makes it very clear

11:49.545 --> 11:51.925
the makes very clear the need to

11:53.595 --> 11:54.925
Multi-level understanding

11:55.065 --> 11:58.925
of product preferences in this sort of setting, as informed

11:59.185 --> 12:02.365
by the socioecological model, proposed in this article.

12:03.185 --> 12:05.525
Um, in fact, biodegradable products seem

12:05.525 --> 12:07.445
to be much more socially acceptable

12:07.445 --> 12:10.525
and culturally acceptable, to base of the pyramid.

12:10.535 --> 12:14.445
Women probably because they have been used to,

12:15.605 --> 12:18.485
adopting clots and clothes based solution, which are more,

12:18.675 --> 12:21.925
much more in line with environmental protection and,

12:22.345 --> 12:25.085
and the protection, the preservation of natural resources.

12:25.985 --> 12:28.685
Um, so consumption pattern.

12:28.685 --> 12:31.485
And this also shows how consumption patterns

12:31.485 --> 12:36.085
and habits in these settings are more tuned to nature

12:36.145 --> 12:39.365
and to environmental protection in a way that can be,

12:39.575 --> 12:41.805
upset by large scale adoption of,

12:41.805 --> 12:42.965
western based solutions.

12:43.345 --> 12:46.645
But we have implication, obviously, for shaping products

12:46.665 --> 12:48.405
and services,

12:49.245 --> 12:51.845
specifically focused on menstrual health management

12:52.465 --> 12:53.845
in disenfranchised

12:53.905 --> 12:56.325
or resource constrained settings, which are very clear.

12:56.825 --> 12:59.525
So biodegradability, environmental protection,

12:59.785 --> 13:03.245
and, the importance of the contextual factors.

13:03.665 --> 13:06.565
So the importance of guaranteeing a safe

13:07.505 --> 13:11.125
and, stigma free environment for women.

13:11.385 --> 13:12.405
How do we do that?

13:12.715 --> 13:16.165
Well, there is a very important element of education,

13:16.315 --> 13:20.045
education of women, education of men, education of families

13:20.395 --> 13:22.845
that has to start from, from primary school and,

13:23.065 --> 13:25.165
and all the way to working environment.

13:26.165 --> 13:28.645
Secondly, I think, it is very important

13:29.145 --> 13:31.045
to appreciate the relevance

13:31.045 --> 13:33.525
and the salience of a sociological approach in

13:33.525 --> 13:37.285
understanding, in understanding these aspects, we need

13:37.285 --> 13:38.365
to really move away.

13:38.505 --> 13:40.485
And this applies to,

13:40.765 --> 13:43.485
decision makers at organizational levels, people

13:43.585 --> 13:45.565
who develop new products, new services,

13:45.665 --> 13:47.685
but also people who formulate policies

13:48.105 --> 13:50.605
for these settings more in general, we really need

13:50.605 --> 13:54.525
to move away from assumed,

13:55.635 --> 13:58.165
assumed ideas of their needs

13:58.265 --> 14:01.125
or superimposed ideas of what their needs

14:01.385 --> 14:02.605
and their views are.

14:03.265 --> 14:06.725
We really need to start from a very qualitative,

14:06.755 --> 14:09.765
very in depth, very exploratory need assessment

14:10.025 --> 14:11.285
to then build product

14:11.385 --> 14:14.645
and service, which can then be really truly social,

14:14.965 --> 14:17.565
cultural, like acceptable or these settings.

14:18.105 --> 14:20.245
And the third and final point, I think

14:20.245 --> 14:23.285
that emergence from this, this article is the relevance

14:23.285 --> 14:24.645
of co-creation approaches.

14:25.115 --> 14:27.045
Once again, we need to embed those views

14:27.145 --> 14:29.205
and we need to find new creative,

14:29.825 --> 14:31.485
methodologically robust way

14:31.625 --> 14:34.485
to embed those voices in the new products and services.

14:34.785 --> 14:37.525
And I believe that this article also make,

14:37.665 --> 14:40.645
not only a theoretical, but also an empirical contribution

14:40.645 --> 14:42.325
to that by highlighting

14:42.465 --> 14:44.925
how this creature is experimenting their simplicity,

14:44.945 --> 14:46.725
but also in their effectiveness

14:46.825 --> 14:50.685
and efficiency can provide a relatively inexpensive

14:51.185 --> 14:54.285
and least intrusive vehicle to,

14:54.395 --> 14:55.965
promote true co-creation.

Menstrual Health's Impact on Women's Livelihoods

00:00:00 - The context of this study relates to the crucial impact of menstrual health and menstrual health management on the livelihood of women in this context, actually, up to 50% of women in Bangladesh, and 66% of women in Nepal according to UNICEF statistics, miss out on everyday activities. So school and work because of their menstrual cycle. And this is because of lack of awareness, poor health literacy, and also unavailability of hygienic menstrual products,
00:00:33 - tract reproductive tract infection with an estimated 70% of them be associated with poor, has, menstrual health management. So infection deriving from improper use of plots leads to high likelihood of missing working days with heavy repercussion, of course, on these women, livelihood. In addition to then that there is a problem of misinformation really, and stigma attached to menstrual health and menstrual health management with only 3.1%
00:01:05 - of women receiving information on menstruation from teachers and health workers respectively. Importantly though also from our point of view is the choice of menstrual health management. Because the choice of a product, the choice of a service, the purchasing act of a menstrual health product, is shaped the many different factors at community, individual, and environmental level, really
00:01:37 - of stay, the profession of the father, the cast, the access to media, the stigma, the community aspect, and all of that attached to this very simple or perceivably simple act of purchasing a menstrual products. Now, the third point of interest, in relation to the use of sanitary products in this setting, relates to the enormous environmental impact of menstrual health.
00:02:09 - of menstrual health products are disposed of every year. And in India, this number is 113,000 tons according to, I believe statistic of, of a couple of years ago. And this is the number is smaller, but we also need to think that only, 12% of women and mostly in urban context, that use menstrual health products while 88%
00:02:40 - hay, ash and, and, and this kind of, solution for menstrual health, which, obviously are highly aging. So, so I'm a management scholar. I come from a business administration point of view really. so we come to this from a base of the pyramid approach, which Is essentially a literature that goes to look at how business models can alleviate poverty.

Integrating Environmental Sustainability in Poverty Alleviation

00:03:10 - and I have been writing in the base of the pyramid literature for quite a while, and what we have noticed is that all the reflection and all the practice in the BOP literature looks at poverty alleviation in sort of isolation without looking at the environmental consequences of business model that are addressed to alleviate poverty. Now, this is a problem because understanding environmental sustainability of BOP initiative is crucial to the development
00:03:42 - because environmental protection is closely linked to poverty in ways that are non trivium. First of all, if we impose or if we think about, developing consumeristic and western based consumption, models to low-income settings, this becomes entirely unsustainable. And also because we know that low-income communities, for example, slum communities, rural communities,
00:04:13 - resources in a much closer way than we do. So if we go to protect the environment, then you know, the, we can expect positives below this also in this community's wellbeing and, and developmental outcomes more in general. so these are essentially, aspects and reasons, why we should be looking also at environmental environmental
00:04:45 - even when they are, addressed at, alleviating poverty. In addition to that, poverty typically leads or may lead to environmental degradation. So by, so there are clearly synergies between environmental efforts and poverty alleviation efforts that haven't been really be looked at in, in the literature so far, but all that in the BOP approach. So based on the pyramid approach,
00:05:17 - let's say, new commons kind of developments that looks at more the interaction, the dialogue between the ones who supposedly develop the service and the ones to receive the service. There is the idea of co-creation. There is the idea of embedding the voices of disenfranchised communities in the business model in new products and services, however, rarely these business models do.
00:05:47 - it is inherently time consuming. so what we propose here is to use a socioecological perspective, first of All, all to develop new products and services. And the sociological perspectives goes to understand how new products and services and the adopt the adoption of those is shaped by a multitude of factors at individual organizational, community policy, and institutional level,

Understanding Menstrual Product Preferences in Communities

00:06:21 - So, by doing that, we have to, embed those voices and understand those needs in a much more holistic way. and that's where our contribution lies. So what we did initially is to do a bit of archival research. So we looked at, social media posts, we looked at, looked at press releases, we looked at, all kinds of reports in this space in India, also
00:06:53 - And in fact, what we found is that a lot of it was around pads, was around, the use of sanitary pads, the, and which was particularly promoted by multinational corporations and by NGOs, which however, follows a bit of Western sort of, you know, pattern of consumption. then we carried out seven, let's say exploratory interviews with people from these communities,
00:07:23 - And that led us to identify a number of attributes that could just, of the product that could map on the socioecological perspective so they could map on the different levels of, our sociological model. And especially we consider product affordability, which reflects the family circumstances, women, the resource prioritization choices, and of course, the socioeconomic background.
00:07:53 - and reusability, which were used to operationalize perceived benefits, linked to potential individual background employment characteristics, but also to the possibility of reducing disposal occurrences that could be associated with safe safety or stigma concern, product by Degradability Degradability is the one that is being used to operationalize the environmental impact specifically. Now, obviously we explained to women
00:08:26 - or would be, and it was explained to the respondents as the product's capability to dissolve completely in nature without any adverse effects, while reusability was used to indicate the product's ability to be repeatedly used over time. And finally, importantly, familiarity with the seller. This was considered, this emerged from our, semi-structured interviews as the one product attribute that
00:08:58 - also the community effect, so the stigma that could be attached to it, and the, the community dynamics, also the gender dynamics within, within the community that could potentially, shape the product preferences and the purchasing, purchasing choices. Now, what did we do with these attributes? We obviously, we composed them. So we inputted all the attributes and all their levels into a software

Understanding Preferences in Menstrual Product Choices

00:09:28 - Now, these are, a number of attributes per the levels, which would result in 48 different profiles if you were to combine them all. Now, the software has been able to reduce them to eight profiles. And so that though each respondent was, administered seven questions only in which they had to choose essentially between one basic profile and one alternative profile.
00:10:02 - two different, slumps in, aaba, the new Delic. The results are quite interesting and to some extent counterintuitive because we found that pro product biodegradability is a crucial factor. Effective POP women's choice of sanitary products as biodegradable products are four times more likely to be purchased than non biodegradable ones. also BOP women
00:10:29 - let's say slum settings prefer highly absorbing products, especially if they're not single and if they live in larger households and prefer lower price cemetery products, in particular, if they are younger in age. women often merge as predicted to be more comfortable in buying sanitary product from non sellers, especially if they're single and in small size households. Arguably because familiarity during the act of purchasing prevents women from being exposed
00:11:01 - Interestingly, instead, for women in larger households, they seem to pre to, prefer buying products from non, familiar sellers. Our findings, indicate that though, you know, these women do prefer low price products. Affordability is not the most important determinant of their choices. It is therefore very important for organizational, but also policy makers, to not only aim at product affordability,
00:11:34 - but also to take into account the availability, acceptability and awareness of the product as we demonstrated also in, in, in other types of research. In order to do so, I believe that this study makes it very clear the makes very clear the need to Multi-level understanding of product preferences in this sort of setting, as informed by the socioecological model, proposed in this article.
00:12:05 - to be much more socially acceptable and culturally acceptable, to base of the pyramid. Women probably because they have been used to, adopting clots and clothes based solution, which are more, much more in line with environmental protection and, and the protection, the preservation of natural resources. so consumption pattern. And this also shows how consumption patterns and habits in these settings are more tuned to nature

Empowering Menstrual Health through Contextual Solutions

00:12:39 - upset by large scale adoption of, western based solutions. But we have implication, obviously, for shaping products and services, specifically focused on menstrual health management in disenfranchised or resource constrained settings, which are very clear. So biodegradability, environmental protection, and, the importance of the contextual factors. So the importance of guaranteeing a safe
00:13:11 - How do we do that? Well, there is a very important element of education, education of women, education of men, education of families that has to start from, from primary school and, and all the way to working environment. Secondly, I think, it is very important to appreciate the relevance and the salience of a sociological approach in understanding, in understanding these aspects, we need to really move away.
00:13:40 - decision makers at organizational levels, people who develop new products, new services, but also people who formulate policies for these settings more in general, we really need to move away from assumed, assumed ideas of their needs or superimposed ideas of what their needs and their views are. We really need to start from a very qualitative, very in depth, very exploratory need assessment
00:14:11 - and service, which can then be really truly social, cultural, like acceptable or these settings. And the third and final point, I think that emergence from this, this article is the relevance of co-creation approaches. Once again, we need to embed those views and we need to find new creative, methodologically robust way to embed those voices in the new products and services. And I believe that this article also make, not only a theoretical, but also an empirical contribution
00:14:54 - how this creature is experimenting their simplicity, but also in their effectiveness and efficiency can provide a relatively inexpensive and least intrusive vehicle to, promote true co-creation.

Faculti AI can make mistakes

Research

Policy

Analysis