Reproductive Health

Menstrual Products

Changing the Cycle: Period Poverty as a Public Health Crisis

Ashley Rapp and Sidonie Kilpatrick

With 1 in 5 girls missing school due to lack of menstrual products, period poverty is an important, yet often ignored, public health crisis. Michigan Public Health students Ashley Rapp and Sidonie Kilpatrick explore the issue, and the ways public health professionals can work toward menstrual equity.

A woman in orange sits on the floor of a prison cell

Not Equipped: The Incarceration of Mothers and Limitations on Reproductive Rights

Sitara Murali

More than a third of incarcerated women worldwide are in US prisons, and 80 percent of those women are mothers. The US prison system is not equipped to provide basic health care to these women and must adapt quickly to ensure basic human dignity and access to adequate health care for a growing population of women.

the interior of a prison block seen through prison bars

Inadequate Health Care: A Significant Problem Affecting Incarcerated Women

Danya Ziazadeh, BS '19

The United States prison system is generally built on a male-specific model, leaving many correctional facilities significantly unprepared to meet the unique biological, psychological, and social health needs of women. This has a negative impact on the health of female inmate populations and presents a challenge that must be addressed.

Family walking down the street

Making Family Planning a Household Name: The Legacy of Title X

Chloe Bakst

Title X provides for a diverse array of services, including medical care like contraception, training for nurses and other care providers, and systematic data collection. Despite fifty years of shrinking financial support, can it continue to be successful?