Fieldwork Personal Hygiene Survey
The UK Polar Network is running a workshop on personal hygiene during remote fieldwork, focusing on menstrual health and going to the bathroom whilst away from sanitation facilities. The workshop has been prompted by the results of a UKPN survey which found that nearly 70% of our members felt that they lacked training in basic field skills.

For many Early Career Researchers (ECRs), their own PhD or MSc fieldwork can be their first time working in remote environments, away from running water,  showers or flushing toilets. How likely you are to have had prior exposure to these conditions can vary based on your location, cultural or socio-economic background. This bias can thus perpetuate inequalities in field-based sciences.

As part of our partnership with the Clean Planet Foundation, next month we are running a field course in Dartmoor as part of our Clean Planet Peninsula initiative where we will teach a back-to-basics field course, with topics such a tent pitching, packing a heavy rucksack and navigating working in close quarters with new people in a remote setting. We hope that the course provides a levelling experience for people entering polar research who may not have previously had the opportunity to engage in the outdoors, and hope that we can assuage some of the worries that ECRs may have when going into the field for the first time. 

A personal hygiene workshop will be included, and we will be running through the different methods for dealing with menstruation and toileting in remote settings. This workshop will introduce the various products and techniques for dealing with going to the bathroom and menstruation while on fieldwork. Fieldwork is inherently stressful at times, but knowing where to pee or how to change a tampon in the cold shouldn't be an extra worry! 

The workshop content has been brought together by the UKPN leadership team and is based on published studies (see below) as well as personal experience. However, while we think it's important to provide structured instruction on toileting, we also recognise the value of the ad-hoc advice provided by those with fieldwork experience. 

Many of us are still using the techniques that were mentioned to us off-hand by more senior field workers:
previously, this may have happened in informal settings: over coffee or when walking to from camp to field site. Due to the impact of covid-19 on taught field courses at undergraduate level, many ECRs have not had the opportunity to receive this informal advice. 

That's where this survey comes in: we would like to 'crowd source' some advice for inclusion in the workshop. Do you have any go-to products for dealing with personal hygiene when in the field? Do you swear by a particular method for going to the toilet when camping? Is there something you wish you knew about before your first field work? 

All responses are anonymized, and we appreciate any advice, no matter how trivial you may (now!) believe it to be. There is no requirement to fill out the full form, so please complete any section you think you might be able to provide useful information for. 

This survey will take 5 to 15 minutes to fill out, depending on how comprehensively you chose to answer. Much of this survey refers to menstruation - if this doesn't apply to you, please feel free to skip these sections - we still greatly value your responses to the other sections! 

For more information on why this course is timely, please see the below excerpt from a recent publication: 

"(they)  must  undertake  additional  psychological  and  physical  labour  to  manage  menstruation  while  doing  demanding  work  in  an  extreme  environment  –  they  change  their  menstrual  products  without  privacy  or  adequate  sanitation;  carry  bloody  menstrual  products  around  with  them  in  the  field  for  long  periods  of  time;  improvise  menstrual  products  when  none  are  available;  keep  menstrual  products  in  their  bodies  for  longer  than  recommended  because  they  are  not  provided  with  adequate  toilet  stops;  and  alter  their  hormonal  balance  with  medications  to  make  menstruation  less  inconvenient." Nash et al., 2022

By filling out this survey, you are agreeing to have your anonymous answers incorporated into future training materials: UKPN Privacy Policy. Survey results will be disseminated through the UKPN's mailing list.
Please send any questions/comments on the survey to president@polarnetwork.org with the words "Field Hygiene Survey" in the subject line. 

Thank you!

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How many field campaigns have you taken part in? *
What country was your fieldwork associated with? (e.g. if you were with the British Antarctic Survey it would be the United Kingdom)
In which environment have you conducted fieldwork? (Select all that apply) 
If you have conducted polar/glacial fieldwork, where was it located? 
What is your discipline?
Clear selection
What is your gender? 
Clear selection
What is your age bracket? 
Clear selection
What is your career stage? 
Clear selection
Before you first went into the field, did you feel adequately prepared to deal with urination during your first fieldwork?
Not at all
Very prepared
Clear selection
Before you first went into the field, did you feel adequately prepared to deal with defecation during your first fieldwork?
Not at all
Very prepared
Clear selection
Have you ever been provided with or offered any training specific to dealing with urination or defecation in the field prior to a field campaign? 
Clear selection
Before you first went into the field, did you feel adequately prepared to deal with your period during your first fieldwork?
Not at all
Very prepared
Clear selection
Have you ever been provided with or offered any training specific to dealing with menstruation in the field prior to a field campaign? 
Clear selection
Currently, are you confident with your ability to deal with urination in a fieldwork setting? 
Clear selection
Currently, are you confident with your ability to deal with defecation in a fieldwork setting? 
Not at all
Very confident
Clear selection
Currently, are you confident with your ability to deal with menstruation in a fieldwork setting? 
Not at all
Very confident
Clear selection
What is your preferred collection method for your period whilst on fieldwork? If you use more than one, please select all that apply. 
Why do you use the above collection method? 
Clear selection
Would you recommend this method to others conducting remote fieldwork? Why?
What practical advice do you wish you were given about menstruation and remote fieldwork? 
What pain management do you use/recommend for fieldwork (select all that apply)? 
How do you store your period products before use in the field in a way that keeps them dry and clean?
How do you deal with disposal/storage of used period products in the field? 
Do you discuss menstruation with your field partners before going into the field? 
Clear selection
If you said 'it depends', could you elaborate on what?
How would you advise broaching the discussion of menstruation in the field, especially with those who don't menstruate? 
Do you have any 'top-tricks' for dealing menstruation in the field that you'd like to share with people? 
What is your preferred method of urinating in the field? What advice would you give someone?  Please provide some context about the environment (i.e on ice, on rock etc). (If this seems like an odd question, imagine it coming from someone who has never had to go to the loo outside - how do you squat? Do you lean against anything? Do you bring a small 'toilet tent'? How do you navigate the presence of other people?)
What is your preferred method of defecating in the field? What advice would you give someone?  Please provide some context about the environment (ie on ice, on rock etc). (If this seems like an odd question, imagine it coming from someone who has never had to go to the loo outside - how do you squat? Do you lean against anything? Do you bring a small 'toilet tent'? Do you bring a trowel? How do you navigate the presence of other people?) Our field course will provide information on dealing with waste in protected environments and packing it out. 
Do you recommend any of the below products for urination/defecation on remote fieldwork? Select all that apply.  
If other, please state below: 
Are there any of the above products you would highly recommend? Please explain. 
Are there any of the above products you wouldn't recommend? Please explain. 
Have you made any modifications to your field-clothing to make going to the bathroom easier (sewing in zips into the crotch, etc)? If so, what are they? 
When you purchase field-clothing, is ease of changing menstrual products/going to the bathroom something you consider? 
It's a priority
I don't consider it
Clear selection
Do you have any 'top-tricks' for dealing with going to the bathroom (urination and defecation) in the field that you'd like to share with people? 
Is there anything that isn't covered in this survey that you wish you'd been told before dealing with urination/defecation on remote fieldwork?
Is there anything that isn't covered in this survey that you wish you'd been told before dealing with menstruation on remote fieldwork?
Are you happy with any written answers you have provided above being incorporated anonymously into written guides/reports produced and published by the UKPN in the future?"
Clear selection
Are you happy with any written answers you have provided above being incorporated anonymously into a workshop (in-person or online) produced by the UKPN in the future?
Clear selection
Thank you for taking part in our survey. 
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