MENSTRUAL HEALTH Menstrual health is a general biological marker for many cisgender women,transgender men and non-binary people.Despite more than half of the population being people who menstruate,stigma,lack of conve...MENSTRUAL HEALTH Menstrual health is a general biological marker for many cisgender women,transgender men and non-binary people.Despite more than half of the population being people who menstruate,stigma,lack of conversation and pressing social needs around menstrual health persists throughout medicine.1 Discussions around menstruation and menstrual management can be difficult for individuals,whether it is with friends or family,or in the healthcare setting.1 Patients who have never discussed menstruation with a clinician may not know what is healthy,assume that an abnormal experience is normal and may endure periods that negatively affect their life,career or well-being.2–5 Menstruation plays a vital role in overall well-being and contributes significantly to an individual’s quality of life.Given their scope of care,family medicine clinicians are poised to identify red-flag menstrual symptoms in their routine visits with patients,reducing time to diagnosis of menstrual disorders.We urge family medicine clinicians to have renewed conversations surrounding menstrual health with their patients.The purpose of this report is to supply a brief overview of the importance of menstrual communication in primary care and serve as a resource to enhance menstrual communication between patient and clinician,with the ultimate goal of decreasing menstrual stigma and promoting improved menstrual health and experiences for patients.展开更多
文摘MENSTRUAL HEALTH Menstrual health is a general biological marker for many cisgender women,transgender men and non-binary people.Despite more than half of the population being people who menstruate,stigma,lack of conversation and pressing social needs around menstrual health persists throughout medicine.1 Discussions around menstruation and menstrual management can be difficult for individuals,whether it is with friends or family,or in the healthcare setting.1 Patients who have never discussed menstruation with a clinician may not know what is healthy,assume that an abnormal experience is normal and may endure periods that negatively affect their life,career or well-being.2–5 Menstruation plays a vital role in overall well-being and contributes significantly to an individual’s quality of life.Given their scope of care,family medicine clinicians are poised to identify red-flag menstrual symptoms in their routine visits with patients,reducing time to diagnosis of menstrual disorders.We urge family medicine clinicians to have renewed conversations surrounding menstrual health with their patients.The purpose of this report is to supply a brief overview of the importance of menstrual communication in primary care and serve as a resource to enhance menstrual communication between patient and clinician,with the ultimate goal of decreasing menstrual stigma and promoting improved menstrual health and experiences for patients.
