Knowledge regarding premenstrual syndrome among adolescent school girls in a view to develop an information booklet

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a combination of physical, psychological, emotional, and mood disturbances that occurs after a women's ovulation. Worldwide, PMS affects 47.8% of the reproductive age group girls. The highest prevalence is found in developed countries. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were to assess the level of knowledge regarding PMS among adolescent girls, to determine the association between the level of knowledge with selected demographic variables, and to develop and validate information booklet. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quantitative approach and descriptive research design were used. One hundred and seventy-one adolescent girls were selected using nonprobability convenient sampling techniques from selected schools of Navi Mumbai. The structured knowledge questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data obtained were tabulated and analyzed in terms of objectives of the study using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: Major findings indicated that adolescent girls had average (56.5%) and good (37.1%) knowledge regarding PMS. The area of introduction to menstruation displayed the maximum mean percentage, whereas the least mean percentage was seen in the area of introduction and meaning of PMS. There was no association found between the level of knowledge with age, type of family, information on PMS, and family history of PMS, whereas the association was found with age of onset of PMS and monthly family income. The content of information booklet was validated by the Content Validity Index (CVI) calculation. The CVI score of the booklet was 0.94. CONCLUSION: Findings revealed that there was necessity for developing an information booklet to improve the knowledge regarding PMS among adolescent girls in selected schools of Navi Mumbai.