A pioneering healthcare programme developed in Cornwall has received international recognition after winning a major award.

Menstrual Cycle Support (MCS), founded by St Agnes-based social entrepreneur Kate Shepherd Cohen, was piloted in Cornwall in 2021 and has since expanded nationally. It is now available through more than 500 GP surgeries, school nursing services and NHS Women's Health Hubs across the UK, and won the Global Social Prescribing Innovation Award at the 2026 Global Social Prescribing Summit, which took place online in July.

The programme is also used by mental health teams, social workers, counsellors, therapists, support workers and secondary care services, reflecting growing recognition that menstrual health literacy has a role across the wider health and care system.

Around 90 per cent of women experience period pain during their lifetime, while one in 10 live with endometriosis, waiting an average of almost nine years for a diagnosis in England.

Those with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) wait an average of 12 years, and many continue to believe debilitating symptoms are simply something they have to live with. Kate founded Menstrual Cycle Support after experiencing crippling PMDD herself. She questioned why so many people reached adulthood without understanding the menstrual cycle, or recognising when symptoms were not normal.

“That experience convinced me that menstrual health literacy is one of the missing pieces of modern healthcare,” she said. “When people understand the menstrual cycle, they don't just understand their periods better - they understand their health better. I'm incredibly proud that something which began here in Cornwall has now been recognised on the world stage.” Menstrual Cycle Support offers two free digital courses - one for adults and one for young people – that have been developed in partnership with Endometriosis UK and can be accessed without a referral.

More than 1,000 people have completed the courses, which take up to 40 minutes to complete and introduce an approach called menstrual cycle awareness, helping people understand the menstrual cycle as an important part of everyday health and wellbeing throughout the month.

They highlight the physical, emotional and psychological changes that occur across the menstrual cycle, enabling women to recognise when symptoms require medical support, and communicate more confidently with healthcare professionals.

Since launching in Cornwall, Menstrual Cycle Support has continued to work closely with local GP surgeries and Cornwall Women's Health Hub. This year, it is delivering a Menstrual Health Literacy Accreditation pilot across Cornwall Education Learning Trust (CELT) schools, funded by Cornwall Council's Education Welfare Service. The pilot aims to improve menstrual health literacy, strengthen support for pupils, provide training for school staff and parents, and help schools address issues including attendance, wellbeing and safeguarding.

Vicky Thornton, Girls’ Wellbeing and Inclusion Lead for Cornwall Council, said: "This is wonderful recognition for an innovation that began here in Cornwall. It demonstrates how ideas developed locally can have the potential to influence health and wellbeing far beyond our county.”

Gareth Presch, founder and chief executive of the World Health Innovation Summit, described Menstrual Cycle Support as “a pioneering model with the potential to influence how healthcare systems approach menstrual health internationally”.