title: Barriers to Effective Conversation about the Menstrual Cycle between Athletes and Support Staff
Creators: name: Paice, Catherine
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Support Staff
subject: female athletes
subject: Women’s Big Bash League (Cricket)
subject: Suncorp Super Netbal
subject: Women’s Australian Football League
subject: Women’s National Rugby League
subject: menstrual dysfunction
subject: hormonal contraception
subject: menstrual cycle

description: Introduction: Research on the menstrual cycle and its influence on an athlete’s health, wellbeing and performance is limited and inconclusive. However, there remains a general consensus that the menstrual cycle, menstrual dysfunction and hormonal contraceptive use has some influence on the physical, physiological and psychological health of an athlete and consequently will affect an athlete’s health, wellbeing and athletic performance. It would be assumed, then that monitoring the effect of the menstrual cycle would be a priority amongst Support Staff working in female sport and that conversations surrounding athletes’ menstrual health would be commonplace. However, it is currently unknown whether conversations surrounding these topics are taking place between Support Staff and athletes. The low level of knowledge that elite athletes and Sport Coaches possess on the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptives (as studied previously) suggests that either these conversations are not happening, or that they’re ineffective in transferring useful information. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether these conversations are taking place and to investigate the barriers to effective conversation about the menstrual cycle between Support Staff and female athletes. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional survey with 26 participants who serve as Support Staff for a range of professional female sports including the Women’s Big Bash League (Cricket), the Suncorp Super Netball, Women’s Australian Football League and the Women’s National Rugby League. A 36-item questionnaire was developed to determine the quantity and quality of conversations that take place between Support Staff and female athletes within the female professional sporting environment. The questionnaire investigated the role of three contextual factors (opportunity, environment and responsibility) and how these factors influence conversation between Support Staff and female athletes surrounding the topic of the menstrual cycle, menstrual dysfunction and hormonal contraception. Demographic information was collected, and the influence of opportunity (i.e., time), environment (i.e., team culture) and responsibility (i.e., their perceived level of responsibility towards the athletes) on conversation was explored between participants from different professions and sporting codes. Results: Within these four sporting codes, opportunity does not appear to be a barrier to the quantity of conversation occurring between Support Staff and female athletes, with 89% of Support Staff reporting having the opportunity to ask questions of their athletes. The cultural environment appears to be generally supportive, however there remains a large proportion of Support Staff that are uncomfortable raising issues surrounding the menstrual cycle, and knowledge of these topics is not prioritised amongst Support Staff. For instance, there was a discrepancy amongst Support Staff raising issues surrounding period pain and menstrual cramping when compared to topics such as muscle injury and soreness amongst athletes. Gender also plays an influential role, with 60% of female Support Staff compared to 27% of male Support Staff agreeing that knowledge of the menstrual cycle, menstrual dysfunction and hormonal contraception is ‘extremely important’. While most Support Staff included knowledge and support of the menstrual health of athletes as their responsibility, 20% of Support Staff were unclear as to whether discussing the menstrual cycle with athletes was expected of their role. Similarly, there remains more than a quarter of Support Staff who are unclear as to whose role it is to refer athletes with suspect menstrual disturbance to specialist practitioners. Finally, 8% of Support Staff had never had a discussion with female athletes about their menstrual cycle. These results suggest that responsibility, at least in some instances, remains a barrier to effective conversations about the menstrual cycle between athletes and Support Staff. Conclusion: It appears as though the menstrual cycle is not extensively discussed between female athletes and Support Staff. Given that many still view the menstrual cycle as a sensitive or awkward topic to broach, in concert with the reported ambiguity surrounding responsibility and the discrepancy in attitudes towards the menstrual cycle between male and female Support Staff, it is likely that these conversations take place infrequently. This could have negative repercussions, as without knowledge and communication surrounding an athletes menstrual health, Support Staff will be less likely to identify and address menstrual disorders, which are common amongst athletes and can negatively impact an athlete’s performance, health, and wellbeing.