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Article History

Received: 28 April 2020

Accepted: 15 February 2021

First Online: 10 March 2021

Declarations

:

: Ethical approval for the study was granted by from the Research Ethics Committee at the LSHTM (reference: 12091) and the Nepal Health Research Council (reference: 102/2017).Informed consent was obtained and witnessed from each participant before enrolment. An information sheet/consent form (in Nepali) was given to, or read out to the participants by the research team. Informed written (or a thumb print if illiterate) consent was received from carers and implementers. Assent was sought from participants under 18 years, and consent sought from their carer or parent. Participants were given the option to have their carer present during the interview. Assent also was sought from people who could not fully understand the consent process, and then consent sought from carers, who were interviewed instead of the person with a disability. It was made clear that participation was voluntary. Methods were adapted to be fully inclusive. For example, for individuals who speak in sign language, sign language interpreters would be available. Simplified information sheets were available for participants with intellectual and communication impairments.The ethics and consent process of PhotoVoice was very thorough to ensure that the participants understood the purpose of the activity and what they are agreeing to. Written consent was sought at the start of the process. The researcher explained how participants could take photos without showing their face and how to represent menstrual issues in a dignified way. Secondary written consent was sought after the photos were taken, the participant viewed the photos, the interview conducted and the photo ranking so the participant could make a better judgement about how they wish them to be used. This consent related to how the photos could be used and if the photographer wanted to be credited by their real name or a pseudonym. All participants requested that their real names be credited whenever their photos and captions are used.

: Participants gave explicit written consent for their identifying images to be published in this study. Participants own their images taken during PhotoVoice and requested that their real names are credited when their photos are used. No individual or identifiable personal details gained through in-depth interviews are included in this manuscript.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.