Prevalence Of Premenstrual Syndome Among Nulliparousfemale Medical Students In Kampala International University-Western Campus.

ABSTRACT

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disorder of young and middle-aged women

characterized by cyclic occurrence in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. It is a

combination of distressing physical, psychological and behavioural changes of sufficient

severity to result in deterioration of inter- personal relationships and (or) interference with

normal activities; which remit upon onset or immediately after menstruation. Most women

have symptoms that are fairly mild and do not need treatment. However, the larger population

of females does not understand their bodies and are afraid or embarrassed by such discussions

involving their female physiology. The aim of the study was to find the prevalence of PMS

amongst the female population in KIU-WC.

A descriptive cross sectional study to examine the prevalence of PMS among adult female in the age bracket of 18-35years in KIU-WC was carried out between May 2013 and July 2013 using a structured questionnaire designed by the researchers. A random sample selection method was used for sample selection of the participants. The finding we got was that Most of the female had mild symptoms. The most prevalent symptom among the mild presentations was: interpersonal conflicts and concentration problems, irritability and mood changes and the most prevalent moderate symptom was fatigue, followed by anxiety. The most prevalent severe symptom was menstrual cramps. It was also found that (PMS) affected the activities of daily life of about (54.7%), while few 45.3% had normal activities of daily life. Majority of the female students (71.15%) reported that Premenstrual syndrome is a normal experience while few (28.85%), reported it a bad experience. It was concluded that despite there being a high prevalence of premenstrual syndrome among female medical students of KIU-WC., they did not have adequate knowledge about PMS as a syndrome entity and Majority of the female students have poor health seeking behavior. The findings thus imply the need for educating the female students on the existence of PMS, different modes of treatment depending on the severity of symptoms so as to help them manage menstrual symptoms and increase awareness of the benefit of treating them.

TABLE OF CONTENT PAGE

DECLARATION ..................................................................................................................................... i

DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................................... iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................................... iv

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ v

TABLE OF CONTENT ......................................................................................................................... vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................. x

DEFINITION OF TERMS .................................................................................................................... xi

CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................................... 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1

1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT ........................................................................................................... 2

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................. 3

1.2.1 BROAD OBJECTIVE ........................................................................................................... 3

1.2.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................... 3

1.3RESEARCH QUESTIONS............................................................................................................ 3

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY ...................................................................................................... 3

CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................................... 4

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................. 4

2.1 PREVALENCE ............................................................................................................................. 7

2.2 ATTITUDE ................................................................................................................................... 7

2.3 AWARENESS .............................................................................................................................. 8

2.4 EFFECTS ON DAILY ACTIVITIES ........................................................................................... 8

CHAPTER THREE .............................................................................................................................. 10

3.0RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 10

3.1 STUDY AREA ........................................................................................................................... 10

3.2 STUDY POPULATION ............................................................................................................. 10

3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................................................................ 10

3.4 SAMPLE SELECTION METHOD ............................................................................................ 10

3.5 SAMPLE SIZE ........................................................................................................................... 10

3.6 SCOPE ........................................................................................................................................ 10

3.6.1CONTENT SCOPE .............................................................................................................. 10

3.6.2 GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE ................................................................................................. 10

3.6.3TIME FRAME ...................................................................................................................... 10

3.7 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT ..................................................................................... 10

3.8 DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS .................................................................................. 11

vii

3.9 DATA PRESENTATION ........................................................................................................... 11

3.10 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION ................................................................................................ 11

CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................................. 12

4.0 DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION ................................................................................ 12

CHAPTER FIVE .................................................................................................................................. 25

5.1 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................. 25

5.2 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 27

5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................ 27

APPENDIX I ........................................................................................................................................ 28

1. CONSENT FORM ............................................................................................................................ 29

2.QUESTIONNAIRE ........................................................................................................................... 29

APPENDIX II ....................................................................................................................................... 32

BUDGET .............................................................................................................................................. 32

APPENDIX III ...................................................................................................................................... 33

WORK PLAN ....................................................................................................................................... 33

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 34

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1: AGE RANGE ....................................................................................................... 12

FIGURE 2: A CHART SHOWING SYMPTOM PREVALENCE ......................................... 13

FIGURE 3: A CHART SHOWING SYMPTOM PREVALENCE AND SEVERITY ........... 14

FIGURE 4: PREVALENCE OF PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME ...................................... 15

FIGURE 5: A GRAPH SHOWING PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME PREVALENCE IN

RELATION TO AGE RANGE ............................................................................................... 16

FIGURE 6: PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME SYMPTOMS ................................................ 17

FIGURE 6: KNOWLEDGE OF PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME ...................................... 18

FIGURE 7: ARE ALL FEMALES AFFECTED ..................................................................... 19

FIGURE 8: PERIOD PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME IS EXPERIENCED ...................... 20

FIGURE 9: EFFECTS ON ACTIVITIES OF DAILY ACTIVITIES ..................................... 21

FIGURE 10 : ATTITUDE TOWARDS PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME .......................... 22

FIGURE 11: A GRAPH SHOWING EFFECTS ON ACTIVTIES OF DAILY LIFE............ 23

FIGURE 12: MODE OF TREATMENT ................................................................................. 24