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Impact of Menstrual Pain Education on Self-Care Practices among Female University Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Menstrual pain, commonly known as dysmenorrhea, is a frequent reproductive health concern among adolescent girls and young women and may interfere with academic activities, concentration, physical activity, social participation, and overall quality of life. Female university students in Nigeria may experience menstrual pain but may have limited knowledge of appropriate self-care practices for managing symptoms. Misconceptions about menstrual pain, cultural beliefs, reliance on unverified remedies, fear of pain-relief medicines, limited access to reliable menstrual-health information, and the normalization of severe menstrual pain may contribute to inadequate self-care. Menstrual pain education provides an opportunity to improve students' understanding of dysmenorrhea, appropriate self-care measures, safe symptom management, and situations requiring professional healthcare. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of menstrual pain education on self-care practices among female university students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Health Literacy Framework, and Social Cognitive Theory. The Health Belief Model explains how students' perceptions of the severity and consequences of menstrual pain, perceived benefits of appropriate self-care, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action may influence their menstrual-health practices. The Health Literacy Framework emphasizes students' ability to access, understand, evaluate, and apply reliable information concerning menstrual pain and appropriate self-care. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes observational learning, self-efficacy, reinforcement, social support, and environmental factors in shaping students' menstrual-health behaviours. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how menstrual pain education may influence self-care practices among female university students in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise female undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18 years and above enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, and eligible students. Menstrual pain education will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to menstrual-health education sessions, frequency and duration of education, information on dysmenorrhea, menstrual self-care, heat therapy, appropriate physical activity, stretching, adequate rest and sleep, hydration, dietary practices, safe use of appropriate pain-relief medicines, medication precautions, stress management, menstrual hygiene, recognition of severe or unusual pain, warning signs requiring professional assessment, and reliable sources of menstrual-health information. Self-care practices will be assessed using indicators such as use of heat therapy, appropriate physical activity and stretching, adequate rest, hydration, appropriate dietary practices, safe use of recommended pain-relief medicines, adherence to medication precautions, stress-management practices, appropriate menstrual hygiene, symptom monitoring, avoidance of harmful or unverified remedies, and timely healthcare-seeking for persistent or severe menstrual pain. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized menstrual-pain knowledge and self-care assessment tools, scenario-based questions, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental intervention is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, menstrual history, severity and frequency of menstrual pain, sources of menstrual-health information, previous management practices, and self-care behaviours. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of menstrual pain education on self-care practices. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, self-care practice scores before and after the educational intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that menstrual pain education has a significant positive impact on self-care practices among female university students in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured, evidence-based, practical, and culturally appropriate menstrual pain education are expected to demonstrate better self-care practices than students without comparable education. Education may improve students' understanding and use of heat therapy, appropriate physical activity, stretching, adequate rest, hydration, suitable dietary practices, and safe use of appropriate pain-relief medicines. It may also discourage reliance on potentially harmful or unverified remedies and improve students' ability to recognize symptoms that require professional medical assessment. Practical education may strengthen students' confidence in managing menstrual pain and encourage them to monitor symptoms and seek appropriate healthcare when pain is severe, persistent, or significantly interferes with daily activities. However, cultural beliefs, menstrual stigma, misinformation, fear of medication, financial barriers, limited access to healthcare, and normalization of severe menstrual pain may reduce the effectiveness of education alone. The study therefore expects accessible, confidential, practical, evidence-based, and sustained menstrual pain education, supported by appropriate university health services, to contribute significantly to improved self-care practices among female university students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on menstrual pain, dysmenorrhea, menstrual self-care, menstrual health education, reproductive health, female university student health, health literacy, women's health, health promotion, healthcare-seeking behaviour, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, universities, university health centres, healthcare professionals, reproductive health providers, public health practitioners, student organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving menstrual health among young women. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating menstrual pain education into university health programmes, improving access to reliable menstrual-health information, promoting safe and effective self-care practices, strengthening student-friendly reproductive health services, encouraging appropriate healthcare-seeking for severe menstrual pain, and developing sustainable menstrual-health interventions for female university students across Nigeria.

Keywords: Menstrual pain education, self-care practices, dysmenorrhea, female university students, menstrual health, reproductive health, health education, health literacy, women's health, health promotion, Nigeria, public health.