Menstrual Stigma and Girls’ Outcomes: An RCT Intervention among Schoolgirls in Nigeria

Last registered on February 05, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Menstrual Stigma and Girls’ Outcomes: An RCT Intervention among Schoolgirls in Nigeria
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015338
Initial registration date
February 05, 2025

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
February 05, 2025, 9:59 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
Terhemen Agabo
Affiliation
Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Alexander Danzer
PI Affiliation
Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-02-06
End date
2026-01-30
Keywords
Education, Gender, Health
Additional Keywords
Menstrual Hygiene, Stigma
JEL code(s)
I12, O15, D91, J13, J24
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Menstruation poses a challenge to girls in low and middle-income countries. However, little is known about the psychosocial constraints facing girls’ menstrual experience and the resulting impact. In this study, we propose a Randomised Control Trial (RCT) targeting 880 schoolgirls in Nigeria. Through the RCT intervention, we intend to unpack the budgetary, information, and psychosocial constraints facing schoolgirls of menstruation age. The intervention proposes three treatments varying exposure to free pad distribution & information, anti-stigma training, and belief correction. Results will reveal whether treatment improves girls' well-being, menstrual-related behaviour, and academic outcomes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Agabo, Terhemen and Alexander Danzer. 2025. "Menstrual Stigma and Girls’ Outcomes: An RCT Intervention among Schoolgirls in Nigeria." AEA RCT Registry. February 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15338-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Working with a local non-profit organsation known as Girls Count Initiative we provide participants in the study with varying exposure to free pad distribution & information, anti-stigma training, and belief correction. We analyse the effects of these intervention on
girls' well-being, menstrual-related behaviour, and academic outcomes.
Intervention Start Date
2025-02-11
Intervention End Date
2025-02-26

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Menstrual Stigma, subjective wellbeign, personal beliefs, social norms, pad adoption, speaking to others, Willingness to speak, private demand for information, public demand for information, giving,avoidance behaviour, school attendance, Academic performance measured by cognition tests, maths and english tests)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
see PAP

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Knowledge of Menstrual health, career aspiration, academic aspiration, and learning effort (teacher ratings of students commitment to classroom learning)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
see PAP

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study targets 880 school girls across 60 schools in Ibadan, Nigeria. We aim to carefully disentangle the separate effects on a wide range of outcomes: behavioural outcomes and wellbeing, as well as academic outcomes . The randomized intervention comprises three treatment arms and a control:

Treatment 1: Base: offers free disposable pads, and MHM information
Treatment 2: Base plus anti-stigma: offers free disposable pads, MHM information plus an anti-stigma training
Treatment 3: Base plus anti-stigma plus norms: offers free disposable pads, MHM information, an anti-stigma training plus a norm correction
Control: offers free sanitary kits at the end of the study (delayed treatment).
The longitudinal RCT contains three waves of data collection at the individual schoolgirl level: t0 is the baseline, t1 is measured shortly after the intervention, t2 is measured 2-4 months after the intervention.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
systematic random sampling
Randomization Unit
Randomization is at school level
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
60 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
The sample comprises of 14 girls in some schools and 15 in others reaching a total of 880 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
15 schools in Treatment 1: Base: offers free disposable pads, and MHM information
15 schools in Treatment 2: Base plus anti-stigma: offers free disposable pads, MHM information plus an anti-stigma training
15 schools in Treatment 3: Base plus anti-stigma plus norms: offers free disposable pads, MHM information, an anti-stigma training plus a norm correction
15 schools in the Control group: offers free sanitary kits at the end of the study (delayed treatment).
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Nigerian Institute for Medical Research- Institutional Review Board (IRB-NIMR))
IRB Approval Date
2024-08-20
IRB Approval Number
IRB/24/063
Analysis Plan

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