Optimizing the Measurement of Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Burden Using an Integrated, Locally Adapted Tool

Joyce Were of the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Kenya will develop a screening tool for assessing heavy menstrual bleeding that is adapted for use in Kenya by integrating two globally used questionnaires, adding material to incorporate the impact on women in the Kenyan context, and translating it into the locally spoken languages Swahili and Luo. Through consultations with experts, the tool will combine the Menstrual Bleeding Questionnaire (MBQ) with the Screening Assessment and Measurement of Atypical and Normal Menstrual Patterns Tool for Adolescents and Adults (SAMANTA), and it will incorporate new questions. The tool will be iteratively modified through small pilot tests. It will then be administered to adolescent girls and young women in Western Kenya as part of the Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), with 70,000 participants surveyed with either the new tool or the MBQ or SAMANTA tools for comparison.