Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is an important health concern in adolescence that can significantly interfere with daily life activities and has a wide variety of physical and psychological signs and symptoms (Abeje & Berhanu, 2019;Mishra et al., 2015;Tadakawa et al., 2016). The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has well-established some criteria in describing PMS, including emotional symptoms (such as depression, angry outbursts, anxiety, irritability, crying spells, confusion, social withdrawal, poor concentration, insomnia, increased nap-taking and changes in sexual desire) and physical symptoms
Aim
This study aimed to compare the effect of peer education and education provided by healthcare providers on PMS in high school students.
Materials and Methods
This quasi‐experimental non‐randomized controlled trial with a three‐armed parallel design was performed on 90 students allocated in three groups, namely, education by peer (intervention group 1 = 30), education by a healthcare provider (intervention group 2 = 30), and a control group (n = 30). The primary outcome was a change in the score of PMS, and the secondary outcomes were changes in the general health score and the frequency of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Education about PMS management was held in WhatsApp messenger in six sessions (two sessions per week) for both intervention groups. All three groups received routine school counseling. The researchers applied repeated‐measures ANCOVA, McNemar, and post‐hoc Bonferroni tests.
Results
Education in intervention group 1 (Partial Eta Squared = 0.67, p < 0.0001) and intervention group 2 (Partial Eta Squared = 0.82, p < 0.0001) significantly reduced the PMS score compared to the control group. In addition, the change in general health score in the intervention groups compared to the control group showed the effectiveness of the intervention (p < 0.001). Education did not significantly reduce PMDD frequency in the intervention groups compared to the control group (p > 0.05).
Conclusion
This study suggests education by peers and healthcare providers effects on PMS and general health in adolescents. It suggested that the effectiveness of these approaches be investigated in other adolescents' health conditions.
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