RT Journal Article
T1 Interference and Impact of Dysmenorrhea on the Life of Spanish Nursing Students
A1 Abreu Sánchez, Ana María
A1 Ruiz Castillo, Javier
A1 Onieva Zafra, María Dolores
A1 Parra Fernández, María Laura
A1 Fernández Martínez, Elia
AB Dysmenorrhea is a cause of absenteeism in universities which, in the context of nursingstudies, may affect mandatory attendance. Moreover, presenteeism is associated with medicationerrors, patient falls, and a reduced quality of patient care. This study sought to identify the degreeof interference of dysmenorrhea on daily life and its impact on academic performance amongSpanish nursing students, and to explore the reasons for presenteeism. A cross-sectional descriptivestudy was conducted on 261 nursing students. Data were collected using a self-administeredquestionnaire. The chi square tests, chi-square linear trend, Student’s t-test, one-way analysis ofvariance of polynomial contrasts, and post hoc tests for the bi-variate analysis were used to comparethe participants’ responses regarding their type of dysmenorrhea and pain intensity. In addition, amultivariate regression was performed to predict absenteeism. The answers to the open questionswere analyzed using thematic content analysis techniques. We observed 62.8% of absenteeism and92.7% of presenteeism due to dysmenorrhea. Absenteeism was observed to be 3.079 (confidenceinterval (CI): 95%1.724–5.499; p < 0.001) times more likely among women with severe menstrual pain,2.513 (CI 95%1.314–4.807; p = 0.005) times more in those suffering from menstrual nausea and 1.936(CI 95%1.098–3.411; p = 0.022) times more frequent in those suffering from diarrhea. The reasons forpresenteeism were grouped into five categories: the pain was bearable, it is not a reason to be absent,others don’t consider it a reason to be absent, responsibility and guilt, and academic consequences.Dysmenorrhea can have a significant impact on academic performance. The concern among studentsabout the academic repercussions and even feelings of guilt and incomprehension from others leadsto high rates of presenteeism with potentially negative consequences for patient care.
PB MDPI
SN 1660-4601
YR 2020
FD 2020-09
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/19027
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/19027
LA eng
NO Abreu Sánchez, A., Ruiz Castillo, J., Onieva Zafra, M. D., Parra Fernández, M. L., & Fernández Martínez, E. (2020). Interference and Impact of Dysmenorrhea on the Life of Spanish Nursing Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6473. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186473
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 30 may 2026