Coping with dysmenorrhea: a qualitative analysis of period pain management among students who menstruate

Abstract

Background Dysmenorrhea, or period pain, affects up to 95% of menstruating individuals and is a common cause of educational absenteeism among students who menstruate worldwide. Evidence suggests that students may lack sufficient knowledge about their menstrual health, which may impede self-management. The aim of the current study was to explore pain management strategies used by students in Ireland with painful periods and to identify their unaddressed needs across physical, psychological, educational, and social domains. Methods This study used a qualitative, interpretive design and opportunity sampling approach to collect and interpret individual accounts of dysmenorrhea from third-level students in Ireland. Data from 21 students were collected using semi-structured online one-to-one interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Analysis resulted in the construction of five themes: (1) Pain management is self-directed trial-and-error, (2) Home as safe haven, (3) Prioritising productivity over pain, (4) We’re missing an option between ‘normalise’ and ‘medicalise’, and (5) Cycle of censorship and concealment. Overall, limited formal education on dysmenorrhea and prevailing negative attitudes towards menstruation create an unsupportive environment for students to learn adequate coping skills. Beyond education, menstrual stigma may also restrict the availability of clear management guidance in domestic and medical spheres. Experiences of dysmenorrhea were also influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, where work-from-home measures were viewed favourably by individuals with dysmenorrhea. Conclusions This study indicates that students in Ireland are inadequately prepared to cope with dysmenorrhea. The current findings have substantial implications for evaluating and reforming current menstrual education standards, in addition to clarifying the negative effects of social stigma on menstrual health literacy.

Reasons for Not Seeking Healthcare Among Students with Dysmenorrhea: A Qualitative Study

“…These findings are in parallel with previous studies that found menstrual stigma restricts access to precise management advice in the home and medical sectors. 22,23 It indicates that community-wide initiatives are needed to raise knowledge of menstruation pain and its treatment. The severity of the menstrual pain of students was also the other reason preventing them from seeking healthcare.…”

Knowledge and Dysmenorrhea Management Among Midwifery Students

“…The majority of the respondents' knowledge of dysmenorrhea was missing (56.6%), according to a prior study on the relationship between dysmenorrhea knowledge and handling in students of SMA Negeri 15 Medan, which obtained a value of p=0.000 based on the chisquare findings. It is clear from the study's findings that treatment for dysmenorrhea and knowledge of the disease is significantly correlated [3]. The better efforts made to treat dysmenorrhea in young women, the more knowledge is available regarding the disease [18]; according to findings by [8], [20], the greater teenage understanding of dysmenorrhea, the better adolescent attitude toward managing dysmenorrhea.…”

“…This complaint usually only arises 2 or 3 years after the first menstruation (menarche). Dysmenorrhea is menstruation accompanied by pain caused by spasms of the uterine muscles [2], [3]. Some women can have abnormal menstruation.…”

“…Menstrual pain, or dysmenorrhea, is quite common throughout the world. Over 50% of women worldwide have menstrual discomfort on average [3], [8]. Primary dysmenorrhea affected 59.7% of women aged 12 to 17 in the United States in 2012, with moderate dysmenorrhea affecting 37%, medium dysmenorrhea 12%, and severe dysmenorrhea causing 23.6% of patients missing school.…”

Effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique on Menstrual Cramps among Adolescent students

“…Furthermore, menstrual cramps are significantly affected by sociocultural attitudes, with periods being regarded as shameful in some sociocultural contexts. Additionally, communication about menstruation is culturally constrained and girls have been instructed to keep silent about menstruation; there is a taboo that makes discussing menstruation and associated symptoms socially unacceptable (Ní Chéileachair, McGuire, & Durand, 2022).…”