Predictors of dysmenorrhea and self-care behavior among vocational nursing school female students.

The purposes of this study were to investigate: (a) differences in demographic characteristics between a group of with dysmenorrhea and a group without this condition, (b) the predictors of dysmenorrhea, and (c) self-care behavior for dysmenorrhea among vocational nursing school female students. A convenience sampling method was used. Freshmen from three vocational nursing schools located in southern Taiwan were recruited. 805 potential participants were surveyed with structured questionnaires, and 760 valid questionnaires were obtained. Results showed the average age of the participants to be 16.7 years. The prevalence rate of dysmenorrhea was 73.3%. Fifty percent of participants reported their menarche occurred between the ages of 12 to 14, 61.6% of them still didn't have regular menstruation, 83.9% had menstruation periods that lasted between 4 to 6 days, 34.6% had received relevant health education, and 20.8% had visited a doctor for dysmenorrhea. There was a significant difference between the dysmenorrhea and non-dysmenorrhea groups in terms of menstrual regularity and receipt of health education. Based on research results, we suggest improving female adolescents' self-care behavior against dysmenorrhea through enhanced health education in schools.