Development of a Functional and Emotional Measure of Dysmenorrhea (FEMD) in Chinese University Women

Measurement properties of patient-reported outcome measures for women with dysmenorrhea: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Dysmenorrhea, or menstrual pain, is a subjective experience, and can only be assessed by patient-reported outcomes. These instruments should be reliable, valid and responsive.

AIM

To identify and critically appraise the available evidence for the measurement properties of specific patient-reported outcome measures used for dysmenorrhea.

METHODS

The PRISMA statement was used to report this systematic review. Databases searched were PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar (April 2021; updated on February 2023). Original studies with primary data collection, with no restriction on language and publication date that reported psychometric properties of one or more dysmenorrhea-related patient-reported outcome measure. The literature searches, selection of studies, data extraction and assessment of the risk of bias were performed independently by two reviewers and followed the COSMIN guidelines.

RESULTS

Thirty studies were analysed in this review, and 19 patient-reported outcome measures were evaluated. The instruments varied in relation to the measured construct and measurement properties (validity, reliability and responsiveness). The methodological quality of the studies and the quality of evidence of the patient-reported outcome measures were variable. Among the 13 studies that reported the development of patient-reported outcome measures, most had inadequate methodological quality, and the overall rating was insufficient or inconsistent.

CONCLUSIONS

The Dysmenorrhea Symptom Interference (DSI) scale was the only identified patient-reported outcome measure that has the potential to be recommended because of its sufficient rating combined with moderate quality of evidence for content validity. Future studies should further evaluate the measurement properties of the existing patient-reported outcome measures, or develop new patient-reported outcome measures following the COSMIN methodology.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Not applicable as this is a systematic review.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO protocol: CRD42021244410. Registration on April 22, 2021.

The Effect of Psychoeducation Based on Leventhal's Self-Regulation Model on Dysmenorrhoea in Nursing Students: A Single-Blind Randomised Controlled Study

BACKGROUND

The use of self-analgesics among women for dysmenorrhoea is common. Non-pharmacological methods can be employed to effectively cope with dysmenorrhoea. Psychoeducation based on Leventhal's Self-Regulation Model (SRM) is an affordable, easy, and non-pharmacological way that clinics can use to cope with dysmenorrhoea.

METHOD

This study aimed to investigate how psychoeducation affected dysmenorrhoea for nursing students using SRM. The sample consisted of 66 female students suffering from moderate-to-severe menstrual pain. A three-session psychoeducation based on SRM was applied to the intervention group. An 'Introductory Information Form', 'Visual Analogue Scale', 'Functional and Emotional Measure of Dysmenorrhoea (FEMD)', and 'Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ)' were used to collect the data. All the measurements were carried out over three consecutive menstrual cycles.

RESULTS

A generalised linear model was used to analyse the data. After receiving psychoeducation, the pain and functional and emotional symptoms of dysmenorrhoea mean scores significantly decreased in the intervention group compared to the control group (p < .05), whereas there was no significant difference between the groups' MSQ mean scores (p > .05).

CONCLUSION

The psychoeducation reduced the severity of dysmenorrhoea pain and the functional and emotional impact levels of dysmenorrhoea and it was proved to be effective at helping the subjects cope with pain in the long term.

Is there a relationship between internalized misogyny and premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea in young women? A descriptive-relational study

AIM

This study utilized a descriptive and relational design to determine the relationship between young women's experiences of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and dysmenorrhea with internalized misogyny.

METHODS

A total of 487 individuals were accessed. Data were collected through the "Personal Information Form" prepared by the researchers, the "Functional and Emotional Measure of Dysmenorrhea" the "Premenstrual Syndrome Scale," and the "Internalized Misogyny Scale."

RESULTS

The internalized misogyny scale mean score had significant effects on the functional and emotional measure of dysmenorrhea mean score (p < 0.05). The internalized misogyny scale mean score was found to have a statistically significant effect on the premenstrual syndrome scale (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that young women's internalized misogyny was highly correlated with PMS and dysmenorrhea, and increased internalized misogyny also increased the severity of PMS and dysmenorrhea in young women.

Farmakološka in nefarmakološka terapija za zdravljenje primarne dismenoreje

Uvod: V prispevku smo na podlagi sistematičnega pregleda literature identificirali različne oblike farmakološkega in nefarmakološkega zdravljenja, ki lahko ženskam s primarno dismenorejo pomagajo zmanjšati intenziteto bolečine. Namen raziskave je bil namreč ugotoviti oblike farmakološke in nefarmakološke terapije za zmanjšanje bolečine pri primarni dismenoreji.Metode: Za iskanje literature so bile uporabljene podatkovne baze: CINAHL, Medline, ScienceDirect in Cochrane Library.  Uporabljeni so bili naslednji iskalni pojmi: primarna dismenoreja, menstrualna bolečina, farmakološko zdravljenje, nefarmakološko zdravljenje; v angleškem jeziku: primary dysmenorrhea, menstrual pain, pharmalogical intervention,  non-pharmacological intervention. Iskanje je bilo omejeno na znanstvene revije, recenzirane publikacije, dostopne v  celotnem besedilu, besedila, objavljena v angleškem jeziku v obdobju 2007–2017. Skupaj je bilo  identificiranih 571 zadetkov, v končno analizo je bilo vključenih 13 raziskav, ki so ustrezale namenu raziskave.Rezultati: Analiziranih je bilo 13 raziskav, od tega pet farmakoloških in osem nefarmakoloških oblik zdravljenja. Rezultati raziskave so pokazali, da nesteroidna protivnetna zdravila ponujajo precejšnje zmanjšanje bolečine pri večini žensk s  primarno dismenorejo. Ugotovitve kažejo, da vse oblike nefarmakološkega zdravljenja niso priporočljive in pri pacientkah s primarno dismenorejo ne pomagajo zmanjšati intenzitete bolečine. Diskusija in zaključek: Rezultati sistematičnega pregleda literature kažejo, da farmakološko zdravljenje učinkoviteje zmanjšuje intenziteto bolečine, saj se učinek delovanja zdravila izkaže v eni uri po zaužitju, vendar povzroča nekatere stranske učinke.