Wednesday 12th June 2024, 2.00-3.00pm
Join us for the launch of ‘Menstrual health in psychiatric inpatient settings’, a new report which will be published on the NSUN website on the 21st of May 2024.
Despite being experienced by much of the patient population, there is a lack of research, policy, and guidance regarding how psychiatric inpatient services should cater for the needs of patients who menstruate.
This research project aims to counter this absence of information by examining the perspectives of people with lived experience, and staff, to consider experiences of menstrual health needs being met, or not met, in psychiatric inpatient settings. By building an understanding of patients’ experiences, this report also aims to inform subsequent actions and campaigns to address the menstrual injustices patients face, including through the production of patient-led guidelines to outline tangible actions mental health service providers and regulators can take to improve support for patients.
The research involved conducting online questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and reviewing NHS mental health trust policies and procedures. Following this data collection and analysis, a focus group was held with people with lived experience of menstruation and treatment in psychiatric hospitals to develop guidelines outlining how mental health services should support patients’ needs relating to menstruation.
The report was written by Hat Porter (they/them) and informed and motivated by their lived experiences of menstruation in mental health wards. The research was commissioned by the National Survivor User Network.
About the launch event
We will be joined by the author of the report, Hat Porter, who will introduce the report and present its findings. This will be followed by an opportunity for discussion within the group, and to share any questions that you have around the report and its findings with Hat.
This event may be of interest to people with lived experience, people working within mental health settings, and people working for organisations and bodies involved in the development and regulation of mental health services. This event is also relevant to people who are interested in menstrual health and period poverty research, policy and campaigns.
Please note: NSUN is a user-led charity, led for and by people with lived experience of mental ill-health, distress, and/or trauma, and this is a survivor-led research project. While this event is open to anyone, we ask people without lived experience to bear in mind that this is a space in which lived experience voices and perspectives are to be respected, centered, and prioritised.
We ask that people are sensitive and considerate of the safety of other attendees. While we welcome personal reflections, we ask that people are mindful about whether what they share might be triggering to other attendees. Please note that the report contains (and so the presentation may also include) details of distressing and traumatic experiences of menstrual injustice in psychiatric inpatient settings and discussion of self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, sexual abuse, trauma and abuse from psychiatric services.
NSUN’s Conduct Agreement
We want virtual NSUN spaces to be safe, welcoming, and inclusive. Harassment, hate speech, and inappropriate behaviour of any kind, verbal or in the chat/Q&A, will not be tolerated.
We reserve the right to immediately remove any attendee we consider to be in breach of this conduct agreement. This includes anyone making racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory, offensive, or hateful remarks.
Removed participants will not be able to re-join the session, or, if applicable, join any of the rest of the sessions in a day or series of events. In order to avoid the derailing of sessions we will not enter into conversations around why conduct was deemed inappropriate in the sessions themselves.
Late admittance
Please note that to avoid disruption or distraction, we will be unable to admit latecomers (anyone who arrives ten minutes after the event’s start time).
Recording
The presentation taking place at the beginning of the event will be recorded so that people can watch it at a later date if they cannot attend. If you turn on your camera/microphone to speak during this time, you may appear on the recording. However, we would ask that you save your questions for the following section of the launch event, where discussion and a Q&A will take place and which will not be recorded.
Chat/Q&A messages are not shown on recordings but may be read out by hosts or speakers. Please do not personally record or share the names or contributions (verbal or in the chat/Q&A) of other event attendees on any platform.
Access
You can find an Easy Read Guide to joining Zoom meetings here.
If you need help with costs to be able to access this event, we may be able to make a contribution – please get in touch with us at info@nsun.org.uk.
Zoom closed captions will be available to turn on during the meeting.
We will be asking that attendees keep themselves on mute while others are talking to avoid audio distractions.
This session will contain a presentation. If you would like the slides in advance, please request this in the sign up form.
Please let us know of any access requirements in your sign up form and we will try to accommodate them as best as we can.
Data
Information provided during your registration to this event is collected in order to process your registration application and to communicate with you about details and joining links for this event. We will not use your data for any other purposes or pass it onto any third parties. You can find our privacy policy here.
About NSUN
This meeting is free to attend and hosted by the National Survivor User Network (NSUN). NSUN is a network of grassroots. community mental health groups and people who have lived experience of mental distress, ill-health or trauma.
NSUN connects, supports and amplifies the voices and work of the 6,000+ individuals and user-led groups that make up our membership. As a user-led organisation ourselves, all of our staff and trustees have lived experience, and our work is rooted in our key value of solidarity.
We work to redistribute power and resource in mental health. You can find out more about us here.