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Dysmenorrhea Characteristics and Self-Care Method used among Female Nursing Students at King Abdulaziz University

Received: 6 December 2018     Accepted: 18 March 2019     Published: 8 April 2019
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Abstract

Background: Dysmenorrhoea is a common gynaecological problem that affects women and has a detrimental impact on their lives. However, women seldom seek medical advice and prefer self-care methods to manage their dysmenorrhoea. Identifying the self-care methods used to manage the pain and the source of information related to self-care methods used among dysmenorrhoeal nursing students would assist health care providers in devising an intervention to improve students' health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st of March up to the end of April in 2018 to identify the characteristics of dysmenorrhoea and the self-care methods used among female nursing students at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. Data were collected from 194 participants using self-administered questionnaires. Results: More than half of respondents (60%) complained of moderate menstrual pain followed by severe pain (22%). The majority of respondents (73.7%) experienced cramping pain in the lower abdomen (89.7%), beginning with menstrual flow (50.1%) and lasting one to two days (64.8%). Nausea (52.1%), dizziness (47.9%) and headaches (45.9%) were the most prominent dysmenorrhoea symptoms. The most common method used to relieve dysmenorrhoea was rest (86.6%) followed by a warm compress (67.0%). Ibuprofen was the most common medication used to manage dysmenorrhoea (22.2%), while the most common herb used was cinnamon (39.2%). Family was the main source of information on the methods used for 80.9% of the respondents. Conclusions: The nursing students used various methods to relieve their menstrual pain, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods; most students used a combination of both. Safe self-care methods use should be a priority in dysmenorrhoeal nursing student’s education.

Published in Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics (Volume 7, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.jgo.20190701.13
Page(s) 17-24
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Dysmenorrhea, Characteristics, Self-Care Methods, Nursing Students

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Fawziya Alghamdi, Ahlam Al-Zahrani, Hawa Alabdulaziz. (2019). Dysmenorrhea Characteristics and Self-Care Method used among Female Nursing Students at King Abdulaziz University. Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 7(1), 17-24. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jgo.20190701.13

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    ACS Style

    Fawziya Alghamdi; Ahlam Al-Zahrani; Hawa Alabdulaziz. Dysmenorrhea Characteristics and Self-Care Method used among Female Nursing Students at King Abdulaziz University. J. Gynecol. Obstet. 2019, 7(1), 17-24. doi: 10.11648/j.jgo.20190701.13

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    AMA Style

    Fawziya Alghamdi, Ahlam Al-Zahrani, Hawa Alabdulaziz. Dysmenorrhea Characteristics and Self-Care Method used among Female Nursing Students at King Abdulaziz University. J Gynecol Obstet. 2019;7(1):17-24. doi: 10.11648/j.jgo.20190701.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jgo.20190701.13,
      author = {Fawziya Alghamdi and Ahlam Al-Zahrani and Hawa Alabdulaziz},
      title = {Dysmenorrhea Characteristics and Self-Care Method used among Female Nursing Students at King Abdulaziz University},
      journal = {Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics},
      volume = {7},
      number = {1},
      pages = {17-24},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jgo.20190701.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jgo.20190701.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jgo.20190701.13},
      abstract = {Background: Dysmenorrhoea is a common gynaecological problem that affects women and has a detrimental impact on their lives. However, women seldom seek medical advice and prefer self-care methods to manage their dysmenorrhoea. Identifying the self-care methods used to manage the pain and the source of information related to self-care methods used among dysmenorrhoeal nursing students would assist health care providers in devising an intervention to improve students' health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st of March up to the end of April in 2018 to identify the characteristics of dysmenorrhoea and the self-care methods used among female nursing students at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. Data were collected from 194 participants using self-administered questionnaires. Results: More than half of respondents (60%) complained of moderate menstrual pain followed by severe pain (22%). The majority of respondents (73.7%) experienced cramping pain in the lower abdomen (89.7%), beginning with menstrual flow (50.1%) and lasting one to two days (64.8%). Nausea (52.1%), dizziness (47.9%) and headaches (45.9%) were the most prominent dysmenorrhoea symptoms. The most common method used to relieve dysmenorrhoea was rest (86.6%) followed by a warm compress (67.0%). Ibuprofen was the most common medication used to manage dysmenorrhoea (22.2%), while the most common herb used was cinnamon (39.2%). Family was the main source of information on the methods used for 80.9% of the respondents. Conclusions: The nursing students used various methods to relieve their menstrual pain, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods; most students used a combination of both. Safe self-care methods use should be a priority in dysmenorrhoeal nursing student’s education.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Dysmenorrhea Characteristics and Self-Care Method used among Female Nursing Students at King Abdulaziz University
    AU  - Fawziya Alghamdi
    AU  - Ahlam Al-Zahrani
    AU  - Hawa Alabdulaziz
    Y1  - 2019/04/08
    PY  - 2019
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jgo.20190701.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jgo.20190701.13
    T2  - Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
    JF  - Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
    JO  - Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
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    EP  - 24
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2376-7820
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jgo.20190701.13
    AB  - Background: Dysmenorrhoea is a common gynaecological problem that affects women and has a detrimental impact on their lives. However, women seldom seek medical advice and prefer self-care methods to manage their dysmenorrhoea. Identifying the self-care methods used to manage the pain and the source of information related to self-care methods used among dysmenorrhoeal nursing students would assist health care providers in devising an intervention to improve students' health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st of March up to the end of April in 2018 to identify the characteristics of dysmenorrhoea and the self-care methods used among female nursing students at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. Data were collected from 194 participants using self-administered questionnaires. Results: More than half of respondents (60%) complained of moderate menstrual pain followed by severe pain (22%). The majority of respondents (73.7%) experienced cramping pain in the lower abdomen (89.7%), beginning with menstrual flow (50.1%) and lasting one to two days (64.8%). Nausea (52.1%), dizziness (47.9%) and headaches (45.9%) were the most prominent dysmenorrhoea symptoms. The most common method used to relieve dysmenorrhoea was rest (86.6%) followed by a warm compress (67.0%). Ibuprofen was the most common medication used to manage dysmenorrhoea (22.2%), while the most common herb used was cinnamon (39.2%). Family was the main source of information on the methods used for 80.9% of the respondents. Conclusions: The nursing students used various methods to relieve their menstrual pain, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods; most students used a combination of both. Safe self-care methods use should be a priority in dysmenorrhoeal nursing student’s education.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Maternity and Child Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

  • Maternity and Child Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

  • Maternity and Child Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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