Knowledge, attitude, and self-medication practices among medical students in dysmenorrhea

Abstract

Background: Dysmenorrhea and its associated pain disable adolescents in their daily activities and also affect the social and mental behavior. The vehement practice of self-medication alarms health-care professionals for conducting periodic awareness programs. Aims and Objectives: We aimed to assess the knowledge about dysmenorrhea and to compare the level of understanding and practices among medical students. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective, observational, cross-sectional, and questionnaire-based study conducted among medical students in a tertiary care hospital. Results: There was no difference in distribution regarding knowledge and attitude of the study population toward dysmenorrhea among the three groups regarding treatment of dysmenorrhea and health education. In contrast, response about contraindications and adverse effects of medications used was observed in only half of the 1st-year students. Half of the study participants, daily activities were affected and led to absenteeism. The negative emotions such as depression, anger, anxiety, and irritability are most noted and the majority of the students felt like distancing themselves during menstruation. Conclusion: The present study concludes that dysmenorrhea, a major problem among adolescents, had an impact on the quality of life including psychological disturbances. Thus, the awareness patterns and practices need to be analyzed periodically among adolescents for better improvement and management of dysmenorrhea.