Category: What makes My Vital Cycles™ different?

My Vital Cycles™ is supported by multiple awards:

• Curtin University Ignition Award
• Curtin University Accelerate Award
• Curtin Medical School Research Grant.
• The Western Australian Institute for Education Research (WAIER)-Fogarty Foundation Award; and
• Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

My Vital Cycles™ is relevant and engaging to adolescent girls because it is real-world and age-appropriate. They become active participants in their own learning because they apply science to themselves. Theory is put into practice by developing girls’ skills of self-observation, recording and interpretation.

My Vital Cycles™ recognises that quality professional training enables teachers and school healthcare professionals to work in partnership. This supports both students’ academic learning and their wellbeing across all year levels and throughout the year as needed.

My Vital Cycles™ begins from the premise that the ovulatory-menstrual cycle is as vital to a woman’s health as her heartbeat and breathing. It portrays the cycle positively within its context as a biopsychosocial phenomenon. The program builds on this appreciative approach to realistically address the common problems that adolescent girls experience.

In 2019, a Delphi panel was convened with experts in medicine, education, and public health. The panel, together with a systematic literature review of school-based menstrual health programs, informed the development of My Vital Cycles™ along with a questionnaire to test adolescent ovulatory-menstrual health literacy.

As applied to the Australian Health Curriculum for Years 9-10, My Vital Cycles™ gives students a solid grounding in the understanding and skills that strengthen their self-awareness and a positive outlook. This is necessary to build and manage respectful relationships, challenge stereotypes, and setting goals for wellbeing.