Dysmenorrhea Characteristics of Female Students of Health School and Affecting Factors and Their Knowledge and Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Methods

The purpose of this study was to examine the menstruation and dysmenorrhea characteristics and the factors affecting dysmenorrhea of health school students, and the knowledge and use of the methods of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) on the part of those students with dysmenorrhea. This is a descriptive study. A descriptive analysis was made by calculating the number, percentage, mean, Pearson χ, and logistic regression analysis. A total of 488 female students participated in the research and 87.7% (n = 428) of all students experienced dysmenorrhea. It was detected that a family history of dysmenorrhea and regular menstrual cycles of the students were dysmenorrhea-affecting factors (P < .05). Seven of 10 students with dysmenorrhea used CAM methods. Heat application of CAM methods for dysmenorrhea management was the most commonly used and also known by the students. The students who experienced severe pain used analgesics (P < .05) and CAM methods (P < .05).