Prevalence of dysmenorrhea, its association with overall academic engagement, and management among nursing undergraduates at Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka: A cross-sectional study

Background: Dysmenorrhea or painful menstrual periods is one of the common health issues the female university students experience which intervenes with academic activities and quality of life. Objectives: We aimed to find the prevalence, intensity, extent of impairment in academic engagement, and efficacy of the management of dysmenorrhea among nursing students at Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka. Methodology: This cross sectional study comprised 86 female nursing students who represented all four academic years. A self-administered questionnaire was used. The intensity and level of dysmenorrhea were assessed. Association of the extent of working impairment with the level of pain determined by Pearson correlation. Duration of dysmenorrhea persisted before and after management was compared using paired sample t-test. The effectiveness of management was analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 97.7%. The majority (54.7%) suffered moderate pain. Mean age of the participants was 24.02 (+/- 1.503). During the period of dysmenorrhea, 32.6%, 33.7%, and 17.4% students experienced slight, moderate, and heavy impairment of overall academic engagement. A positive correlation was observed between level of pain and extent of academic impairment (p < 0.05). The majority practiced pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain relieving methods together. Wilcoxon signed-rank test value revealed more negative ranks and statistically significant reduction in intensity in post-management period (z = -7.793, p = 0). Post-management dysmenorrhea duration was significantly reduced than pre-management (t(76) = 8.984, p = 0). Conclusion: A substantial percent of undergraduates suffer from dysmenorrhea. It is associated impairment of overall academic engagement. The nursing students were able to manage dysmenorrhea successfully.