UK Polar Network List: Field Hygiene Survey

Survey Link:

Hello!

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.

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!

Best wishes,

Ellie

UKPN Co-President

Survey link: https://forms.gle/tm6bus2LyNRyj7dw7