Taboo Talks: One-on-One Conversations and the Erosion of Support for Menstrual Restrictions

Last registered on December 02, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Taboo Talks: One-on-One Conversations and the Erosion of Support for Menstrual Restrictions
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014876
Initial registration date
November 21, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
December 02, 2024, 11:07 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Silvia Castro
Affiliation
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Kristina Czura
PI Affiliation
Universtity of Groningen
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PI Name
Carolin Formella
PI Affiliation
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
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PI Name
Dipisha Bhujel
PI Affiliation
NIDISI
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-11-14
End date
2025-12-31
Keywords
Education, Gender, Health
Additional Keywords
menstruation, menstrual health
JEL code(s)
I12, I18, J16, O15
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines the potential of one-on-one conversations to weaken taboos and agreeent to social restrictions surrounding menstruation. The research design involves structured conversations between school-attending teenagers and facilitators. During these brief interactions, facilitators guide participants through a questionnaire and present vignettes that may prompt reflection on societal perceptions of menstruation and to encourage participants to imagine themselves in various menstruation-related scenarios.

To assess the impact of these conversations, we exogenously vary the placement of questions regarding participants’ agreement with menstrual health behaviors—positioning them either at the beginning or the end of the session. This experimental design allows us to isolate the causal effect of the conversation on participants’ agreement with menstrual restrictions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bhujel, Dipisha et al. 2024. "Taboo Talks: One-on-One Conversations and the Erosion of Support for Menstrual Restrictions." AEA RCT Registry. December 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14876-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The research design consists of a 15-20 minute structured one-on-one conversations between a school-age participant and a facilitator. During this interaction, the facilitator guides the participant through a series of reflective questions and vignettes designed to explore norms and behaviors related to menstruation. These discussions focus on prompting the participant to think about how societal norms influence perceptions of menstruation and to imagine themselves in various scenarios related to menstrual health. Importantly, the facilitator does not provide knowledge or external information; the conversation centers solely on the participant's own reflections and responses to the presented scenarios and questions.
Intervention Start Date
2024-11-15
Intervention End Date
2025-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Agreement with five statements capturing behaviors related to menstruation will be assessed. The main results will be analyzed separately by gender, with the principal result derived from the first statement.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
4 point likert scale from fully disagree, to fully agree

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will exogenously vary the placement of questions regarding participants’ agreement with menstrual health behaviors—positioning them either at the beginning or towards the end of the conversation. This experimental design allows us to isolate the causal effect of the dialogue on participants’ agreement with menstrual restrictions.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Individual randomization is embedded in the SurveyCTO software, which randomly assigns each survey to either the beginning or the end of the session.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
no clustering
Sample size: planned number of observations
At least 4000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
At least 2000
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Commission, Department of Economics, University of Munich
IRB Approval Date
2024-11-05
IRB Approval Number
2024-15
Analysis Plan

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