Film/Video
Health bucks sucess stories 2022
Immaculada Moronta, MIM
The Institute for Family Heallth/ Bronx Health REACH, New York, NY
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
Bronx Health REACH, a program led by the Institute for Family Health partnership with houses of worship to support, promote and expand access to fruits and vegetables among Blacks and Latinos in the Bronx, NY by using Health Bucks, which are $2 coupons used to buy fruits and vegetables at all New York City farmers' markets. This film highlights the importance and the need in the Bronx community to promote the program, its impact and how farmers' market tours have been instrumental in the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity.
Film/Video
Healing a community
Tracy McNew, MPA, LPN, Ph.D Candidate1 and Karen Morrissette2
(1)Center for Asbestos Related Disease, Libby, MT, (2)CENTER FOR ASBESTOS RELATED DISEASE, LIBBY, MT
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
This 30-minute film documents the effect of the asbestos public health emergency on Libby, Montana, as well as how the community worked together in response to establish the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD). The story is told through the eyes of individuals and families suffering from asbestos-related diseases and Dr. Brad Black, who has led the effort since CARD's inception in 2000. This educational film was funded through the CDC grant for Early Detection of Certain Medical Conditions Related to Environmental Health Hazards.
Film/Video
Grace, food safety hero
Laura Wildey, MS, CP-FS, Chana Goussetis, MA and Terryn Laird
National Environmental Health Association, Denver, CO
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
Grace, a local food safety professional, shares the emotional story of how a routine food safety inspection went awry and resulted in immediate, costly corrective actions. Grace grapples with the difficulty of the decisions she made and the impact on the retail food operation, but ultimately realizes that her actions saved people from experiencing potentially deadly foodborne illness. Grace is one of countless food safety professionals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep your food safe. This film is part of a series that shares stories of several local food safety heroes and their critical role in protecting our community’s health.
Film/Video
Falling into the abyss: The state of mental health in Colorado
Vincent Atchity
Mental Health Colorado, Denver, CO
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
According to Mental Health America, in 2021 Colorado ranked 51st out of 51 with regard to access to and outcomes for adults with mental health issues. When a Coloradan and/or their family first encounter a personal mental health crisis, they are often shocked by the lack of a system in place to help them. It is like falling into an abyss, with no known bottom and no plan for escape. Few Coloradans are aware of this void in mental health care until it is too late. This film explores this problem through stories from people with lived experience and explores solutions with commentary from state experts such as police officers, legislators, advocates, and the state's new Behavioral Health Commissioner.
Film/Video
Nothern California's youth voices on vaping
Amber Wier, BS1 and JoAnn Saccato, MA2
(1)California Health Collaborative, Crescent City, CA, (2)California Health Collaborative, Middletown, CA
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
Youth vaping has continued to be a problem for rural teens in Northern California. This short documentary shares local youth, parents, and leaders' perspectives on commercial tobacco's harms and predatory practices.
After years of public health education and adult coalitions asking their local government for protection from commercial tobacco's influence and addiction of their youth, tobacco prevention policies had yet to be created. However, once this documentary was shared with elected officials, it ignited their desire to pass prevention-based policies. As a result, Del Norte County's Board of Supervisors shared the video at their Aug. 2022 board meeting and passed a TRL the following month (9/14/2022).
This documentary has also been shown to elected officials in Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties. As a result, these counties are now adding TRLs to their Board of Supervisor meetings.
Film/Video
A look inside life-saving overdose prevention centers
Gabriella Miyares and Toni Smith Thompson
New York, NY
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
In 2021, OnPoint NYC opened the first recognized overdose prevention centers, or OPCs, in the U.S. Since then, they've reversed over 1,000 potentially fatal overdoses and diverted nearly 100,000 instances of drug use away from public spaces. They've also connected thousands of people with addiction services and social supports, including voluntary treatment. OnPoint's staff invited us to take a look into these life-saving facilities. We spoke with them to learn how OPCs are improving community health and saving lives.
Film/Video
Maine SNAP education in the community
Alexandra Morrow, Filmmaker1, Amy Steenstra, Account Manager2 and Jameson Smith, Producer2
(1)Armadillo Collective, Portland, ME, (2)Ethos Marketing Agency, Westbrook, ME
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
In Maine, 144,290 people are facing food insecurity & hunger. 36,490 of them are children. On the frontlines of the effort to combat this problem, are Maine SNAP-Ed programs at community-operated locations across the state. Documentary filmmaker Alexandra Morrow shines a light on the creative and effective ways in which Maine SNAP Educators are working with locals - through the lens of the educators and families of the Alan Day Community Garden in Norway, Maine.
Film/Video
My health in my hands: The Georgia medication abortion project
Hayley McMahon, MSPH, CPH1, Leslie Serrano, MPH1, Teja Vyavahare, MPH2, Indya Hairston, MPH2, Sequoia Ayala, JD, MA3, Zainab Jah, MPH4, Tiffany Hailstorks, MD, MPH1, Dazon Diallo, MPH2 and Elizabeth Mosley, PhD, MPH1
(1)Emory University, Atlanta, GA, (2)SisterLove, Inc., Atlanta, GA, (3)The Raben Group, Washington, DC, (4)National Birth Equity Collaborative, Washington, DC
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
This short, animated film provides an educational overview of medication abortion — what it is, how it works, how people experience it, where they can find further resources, and more. The film features Damaris, a health educator, sharing information about medication abortion with a small group gathered at the MOTHERHOUSE, a community organization-led health center located in Atlanta, Georgia. Damaris warmly guides the group through the basics of medication abortion effectiveness, safety, legality, and access. The film was created in response to needs identified through community-led, qualitative research with Black and Latinx women in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. As the primary program materials for a reproductive justice-grounded intervention within the larger Georgia Medication Abortion Project, the film aims to increase medication abortion knowledge among Black and Latinx women living in the state of Georgia.
Film/Video
Helping people live their healthiest lives
Anna Karavanov, PhD1, Zunera Mirza2, John Patton2, Lisa Richardson, MD, MPH3 and Amy Heldman3
(1)National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, Chevy Chase, MD, (2)National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, Atlanta, GA, (3)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
All people deserve the fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest lives. However, some people do not have equitable access to resources and opportunities due to unfair policies, practices, conditions, and differential treatment. The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion to elevate how public health and community partner organizations can work together to build healthier communities.
Film/Video
Safe in the city
Chandler Douglas, MA and Melissa Kelley, EdD, CHES
HealthHIV, Washington D.C., DC
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
Safe in the City is a 30-minute, video-based HIV and STI prevention intervention designed for patients in STI clinic waiting rooms. Safe in the City aims to increase condom use and other safer sex behaviors, thereby reducing infections among patients who view the video.
Safe in the City features a series of vignettes with five couples navigating sexual situations with their partners. Designed to demonstrate a number of relationships, orientations, attractions, expressions, and discussions, Safe in the City is relatable to all people, including those who are sexually active and those considering sexual activity.
Film/Video
Healthy places index utilized in creative corps pilot program to promote health equity through art across California
Allison Walker, Bachelor of Science, Journalism
Public Health Alliance of Southern California, Oakland, CA
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
The California Arts Council's (CAC) Creative Corps Pilot Program is harnessing arts advocacy to champion health equity. Creative Corps is allocating $60 million in grant funds to support artists & nonprofits across California in a three-year collaboration to design art projects that raise awareness about pressing issues like public health, environmental justice, and emergency preparedness. Creative Corps is the first initiative of its kind in the U.S., created in response to health disparities exacerbated by the pandemic. To promote an equitable recovery in communities facing ongoing marginalization, CAC turned to the Public Health Alliance of Southern California’s Healthy Places Index (HPI.) HPI catalyzes equitable investments and program development by embedding cutting-edge tools for data comparison, race and place-based analysis, policy recommendations, and historic redlining data. CAC noted HPI is addressing a statewide need for equitable and comprehensive data analysis, helping Creative Corps pinpoint under-resourced communities by offering data on community conditions linked to health outcomes and the relationship between race and location. Artists and nonprofits chosen must prove their deep connections with communities in HPI quartile one, which indicates less healthy community conditions. Setting national precedents, HPI remains vital for an equitable public health response amid the pandemic and beyond.
Film/Video
Burlington, Vermont’s ‘you first program’ works closely with residents to diversify and expand their community’s health and wellness programs
Rebecca Palpant Shimkets, M.S.1, John Patton1 and Melonie Thomas2
(1)National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, Atlanta, GA, (2)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
For more than 30 years, CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) has provided access to timely breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services to women who have low incomes and are uninsured and underserved.
With the support of CDC's NBCCEDP, Vermont’s ‘You First Program’ is a one-of-a-kind, free program that helps anyone with breasts or a cervix, get lifesaving cancer screening services. The program partners with local organizations to reach more people in ways that are affirming and culturally appropriate. For example, in Burlington, the Pride Center of Vermont works with the You First Program to destigmatize cancer screening and other health services for LGBTQ+ Vermonters.
Film/Video
The only constant is change: How federally qualified health centers meet the moment
Sonia Erlich, LMHC, MA, MFA1 and Peggie Bobo, JD2
(1)TEAM UP for Children, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, (2)Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
This documentary-style film offers a portrait of two community health centers in Boston, Massachusetts, and the way they adjust and adapt to meet the needs of the moment. Filmed in 2022, health center staff discuss caring for diverse populations, youth mental health, and the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This film celebrates the community health center movement, rooted in meeting people where they are, co-creating treatment that honors the range of cultures, circumstances, and values of those engaging in care.
Film/Video
Maternal mortality in Sierra Leone: To become a healthcare worker
Lauren Lencovich1, Fathima Wakeel, Ph.D., MPH2, Michael Kramp, Ph.D.2, Tiffany Valencia2, Hannah Falatko2, Beatrice Arnfield2, Brooke Erickson3, Christina Enodien2 and Christine Kwon2
(1)Trenton, NJ, (2)Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, (3)Bend, OR
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
Sierra Leone currently has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Most maternal deaths within the country are due to preventable causes including a shortage of healthcare workers in the country, an overall lack of health education, and a lack of access to healthcare. The Mothers of Sierra Leone docuseries is a social impact project creating documentary films that highlight maternal healthcare resources in Sierra Leone and contribute to the promotion of positive maternal health behaviors in the Sierra Leonean community.
A preventable factor contributing to Sierra Leone’s high maternal mortality rate is the shortage of healthcare workers in the country. Our film “Maternal Mortality in Sierra Leone: To Become a Healthcare Worker” emphasizes the need for more healthcare workers in the country through the voices of current healthcare workers in Sierra Leone. This film was made with the intent to educate and inspire Sierra Leoneans to consider joining the healthcare field and ultimately contribute to promoting healthy behaviors within their community.
Film/Video
Don’t Dr’Ed Sex Ed
Sierra Galvan1, Jeannie Concha, PhD MPH2 and Jorge Puentes1
(1)University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, (2)The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
Conversations about sex education between parents and children have been linked to reduction of high-risk sexual behavior in teens. In the US in 2020 around a fifth of all parents did not have any sort of sex education conversations with their children and only 60% covered topics such as birth control or sexually transmitted infections (STIs). More taboo topics including birth control or teen pregnancy, are seldom covered in these talks.
Only 50% of US teens receive adequate sex education covering safe sex topics. Additionally, from 2017 to 2019 Hispanics who received sex education decreased from a rate of 53.3% to 50.6%. Don’t Dr’Ed Sex Ed seeks to normalize sex education conversations between Hispanic mothers and their daughters.
We set to achieve this goal by portraying the challenges and feelings associated with initiating "The Talk" through a comedic lens of a mother's perspective. Relevant websites, online resources and academic articles were compiled into a QR code, that when accessed, will provide the intended audience with links to tips, tools and information for initiating sex education conversations. To measure the reach of our PSA, metrics provided linktr.ee were used to determine web traffic.
Film/Video
Health, healing, and hope: Striving towards food and nutrition security
Esther EPP1 and Jina Chung, MD2
(1)PALOS VERDES PENINSULA HIGH SCHOOL, PALOS VERDES ESTATES, CA, (2)HARBOR UCLA MEDICAL CENTER, TORRANCE, CA
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
Food and nutrition insecurity (FNI) is a daily struggle for many Americans negatively affected by the social determinants of health. Food deserts epitomize the ethical challenge in access, availability and affordability of healthy food. FNI is associated with many health issues, which nutritious food may prevent and treat. This film focuses on the reality of those facing FNI, and others who strive to meet their need toward health, healing and hope.
Since middle school, I've volunteered at Reignite Hope, a welding training center for ex-offenders and the homeless, serving nutrient-rich lunches, the only meal of the day for many. 78.9% of the students experience FNI, but underutilize SNAP. I live in Los Angeles County, where 1 out of 5 people face food insecurity.
FNI requires multifaceted solutions such as thoughtful policies, measurable outcomes and effective implementation. The film draws from the 2022 American Heart Association policy statement on FNI, the Healthy People 2030 Initiative and other peer-reviewed journals. Two efforts are highlighted: a Reignite Hope lunch/SNAP enrollment program, and a food pharmacy program which partners with federal, state and county governments, hospitals, regional food banks and local volunteers to reach those who are vulnerable.
Film/Video
Visibilizing community health workers in clinical health centers and community organizations: The Puerto Rico experience
Alexandra Marie Rivera-Ulloa, MSW1, Sandra Otero-Morales, MHSA, EdD1, Gloria Domnguez2, Ricky Vzquez3, Gabriela Algarn Zayas1, Marianyoly Ortiz, PhD1, Carmen Milagros Velez Vega, PhD, MSW4, Jos F. Cordero, MD, MPH5 and Martin Montoya-Zavala, PhD1
(1)Puerto Rico Public Health Trust, San Juan, PR, (2)Puerto Rico Public Health Trust, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, (3)Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust, San Juan, PR, (4)University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, (5)University of Georgia, College of Public Health, Atlanta, GA
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
In September 2017, a category five hurricane devastated Puerto Rico, causing over 4,645 deaths. For months, the population had to survive without essential services. People living with chronic diseases were affected the most. After conducting a rapid needs assessment in early 2018, it was recommended to develop a Community Health Workers (CHW) capacity building program to support chronic disease management and emergency preparedness for patients suffering these live threatening conditions. Medtronic Foundation supported this recommendation and CHWs were trained and inserted in the clinical teams of federally qualified health centers and community organizations. They accompanied and connected people living with chronic diseases to health and social services programs to improve their quality of life. Another important aspect of the project was to develop an emergency preparedness plan specifically designed to educate the participants of the program on how to prepare for different emergencies, including the hurricane season. Furthermore, the plan was recorded in audio with the voices of CHWs and interpreted in sign language and audio description, making this information accessible for people with functional diversity. This short film features how CHWs accompanied to help them adhere to their treatments, connect with social services, and develop their emergency preparedness plans.
Film/Video
Hearing norton sound: Addressing childhood hearing loss disparities in an Alaska Native population
Meade Inglis-Jenson1, Susan Emmett, MD MPH2 and Samantha Kleindienst Robler, AuD PhD2
(1)Davis, CA, (2)Little Rock, AR
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
School hearing screening is widely recognized as an essential measure for identification, prevention, and treatment of childhood hearing loss. However, loss to follow-up is a ubiquitous issue that limits screenings’ effectiveness. This is particularly concerning in underserved rural and indigenous Arctic communities, which can experience a disproportionately high prevalence of infection-related childhood hearing loss. Telemedicine presents an opportunity to improve access to ear and hearing care for these rural communities. Hearing Norton Sound was a cluster-randomized controlled trial, conducted from 2017-2019 in the Bering Strait region of Northwest Alaska, which evaluated a telemedicine specialty referral pathway following referred school hearing screenings. Results from the trial found children in telemedicine referral communities to be 2.3 times more likely to receive follow-up than those in the comparison communities, and follow-up occurred 17 times faster. In tandem with trial data collection, research staff conducted documentary audio interviews with teachers, parents, community members, and health care providers in these communities to understand the lived experience of childhood hearing loss in this region. This video presents the results of the trial with visuals from participating communities and audio narratives from multiple community members’ perspectives.
Film/Video
Powerful partnerships for healthy communities
Selma Aly1 and Solange Gould, DrPH2
(1)Madison, WI, (2)Human Impact Partners, Berkeley, CA
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
Power is increasingly understood as a root cause of health equity, and governmental public health is beginning to embrace its role in shifting power to communities facing inequities. Human Impact Partners produced a series of three videos about innovative community-government partnerships that are building and sharing power for health equity. The videos aim to inspire and provoke government agencies to forge accountable partnerships with community-based organizations as foundational to their health equity work, highlighting challenges, lessons, and action on power building and power shifting.
In Washington, the Department of Public Health’s WIC Office and Byrd Barr Place, a community organization, partnered to engage Black birthing families in a community advisory group, to share feedback on their experiences in WIC and opportunities to improve the program. On the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project worked with the Zuni Utility Department to implement a residential rebate program for harvesting rainwater to be used for home gardens and other domestic activities. The California Strategic Growth Council and community organizing group Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability worked to expand the Transformative Climate Communities infrastructure and development grant program to include Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities.
Film/Video
Clinical research engagement learning short series
Amanda Hensley, MHA
Roanoke, VA
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
A major emphasis of the integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV) is to engage community members across the Commonwealth in all facets of translational research and to improve human health and promote health equity. iTHRIV is an NIH-funded partnership among the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Carilion Clinic, and the INOVA Health System. iTHRIV’s Community and Collaboration Core developed brief educational videos, called Learning Shorts, to help educate, dispel misinformation, and create a basis for conversation between the community and health researchers. The Learning Short Series “Clinical Research Engagement” is designed to reach the general public. Topics include defining clinical research, emphasizing the importance of participation by members of diverse communities, discussing responsible and ethical conduct in research, and protecting human research participants. Viewers are also walked through the informed consent process in both English and Spanish. This video series seeks to facilitate conversation between health researchers and community members who may be interested in learning about and potentially participating in clinical research. (Funding source: National Center for Advancing Translational Science of the National Institutes of Health Award UL1TR003015/ KL2TR003016)
Film/Video
Empowering rural Texas communities for future pandemics
Osman Galindo1, Anabel Rodriguez, PhD, MPH2 and Leah Ghobrial, MPH1
(1)Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute, Houston, TX, (2)Texas A&M University, School of Public Health, College Station, TX
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
In this short video, we highlight an initiative of the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI) that focuses on preparing rural communities in Texas for future pandemics, with a particular focus on agricultural workers. Told through the lens of the program’s lead and former migrant farm worker, Anabel Rodriguez, PhD, MPH, the video begins with a look back at her firsthand experience working alongside her family.
TEPHI's approach combines education, collaboration, and resource provision to address some of the service gaps that surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a heartfelt interview, the video captures the transformative impact of TEPHI's outreach initiatives, as well as the importance of working alongside community partners to reach those who are often forgotten in rural communities. Though brief, this inspiring video serves as a testament to TEPHI's dedication in preparing and empowering rural communities, ensuring they are better equipped to face the challenges of future pandemics. Through our work, we aim to serve as a national model of regional epidemic preparedness, and lay the groundwork for a coordinated and collaborative response. This video appeals to a broad audience, and is meant to inspire and inform rural public health initiatives.
Film/Video
Super doulas: An animated short by heluna health and artist/director lalo alcaraz
Sarah Nelson
City of Industry, CA
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
The animated short addresses high rates of adverse birth-related health outcomes affecting women of color by promoting community doulas who advocate for equitable care and help ensure that pregnancy and birthing experiences are safe. It is narrated by a young woman named Paloma, who tells the story of how a community doula helped her mother safely deliver. Doulas provide labor and delivery support, emotional support, and advocacy with medical staff, as well as postpartum support including breastfeeding guidance.
Film/Video
The nih heal initiative–heal is hope
Julie Hentz, MPH, Social Marketing Certification
Gaithersburg, MD
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
The NIH HEAL Initiative® is an aggressive research effort that combines the power of science and community to address the evolving public health challenges of poorly treated pain, opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose. HEAL-funded research is making a difference in the lives of individuals and communities across America. This important work relies on strong partnerships with federal agencies, the private sector, research institutions, and communities. HEAL strives to get the word out about the research advances from its more than 1,000 funded projects via various channels and media, one of the most important being video. This animated video explains the gravity of the opioid epidemic, including the increased prevalence of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. It demonstrates the many areas in which HEAL is conducting research to lead us into a healthier future.
Film/Video
Samad's house: Empowered women, empower women
Radhika Dua1, Cassandra Laibly1 and Tahira Malik2
(1)Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, (2)Samad's House, Milwaukee, WI
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
Following the captivating journey of Samad’s house, founder Tahira Malik and the women of Samad’s house share their stories on the power of creating a home and sisterhood in one most heavily impacted zip codes from the substance use crisis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over the course of the past decade, the public health crisis has increased exponentially across the nation, heavily impacting diversely segregated metropolitan communities. Barriers surrounding the crisis stem from physical, social, and ethical implications. By targeting the stigma, Samad’s House Empowered Women, Empower Women shares a unique perspective of community partners that lead with lived experience, utilize an equity-based approach for integration of resources, and is rooted in community engagement and collaboration across governmental and nongovernmental entities. Tahira Malik and the women of Samad’s house demonstrate the power of unity when addressing a large public health crisis and remain pivotal leaders in the Milwaukee community for overcoming the physical, social, and ethical implications that arise from substance misuse. Curating a foundation of self-sufficiency, a holistic approach, and uniting in community partnership, this documentary highlights the people behind the movement to humanize substance use and
end the stigma.
Film/Video
Care matters: Implicit bias in women's health
Gwendolyn Norman
Detroit, MI
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
While acknowledging the historical legacy of centuries of inequities and mistreatment, this film addresses the current role of implicit bias in maintaining the consistently higher rates of maternal morbidity and mortality among African American women. Dr. Gwendolyn Norman conducts interviews with a select sample of African American physicians, certified nurse midwives and doulas, who share strategies for mitigating the impact of implicit bias and delivering care that is equitable, respectful, and that meets the unique needs of African American women whose life experiences continue to be shaped by structural racism and discrimination.
Film/Video
A look into period poverty
Tanya Ambrose1, Chloe Ambrose, MPH2 and Jamaine Semple3
(1)West Columbia, SC, (2)Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), NEW YORK, NY, (3)ZW Creative, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda
APHA 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo
This film aims to raise awareness about the hidden struggles faced by menstruators and shed light on the pervasive issue of period poverty. Through a poignant exploration of personal stories and societal perspectives, the film seeks to dismantle the stigmas and taboos surrounding menstruation and advocate for greater support and understanding. The film aims to create a more inclusive society that recognizes menstrual health as a fundamental right for all.
We are taught that basic needs are inclusive of food, water, shelter, and clothing. However, throughout the course of a lifespan, many will experience biological changes during puberty, and this list will extend to menstrual hygiene products. There are things we have no natural control over, and experiencing menstruation is in that category.
The stigmas and taboos associated with menstrual cycles have been dated back to ancient history, contributing to the negative menstrual perspectives in the present day. For years, people have been subjected to feeling ashamed and are afraid to speak on issues they endure to prevent being labeled. This resulted in numerous public health issues, which include period poverty.
This film highlights the challenges menstruators experience and aims to bring awareness to the public health issue.