Effects of health education and progressive muscle relaxation on vasomotor symptoms and insomnia in perimenopausal women: A randomized controlled trial

PELİT AKSU S., ŞENTÜRK ERENEL A.

Patient Education and Counseling, vol.105, no.11, pp.3279-3286, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 105 Issue: 11
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.pec.2022.07.015
  • Journal Name: Patient Education and Counseling
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ASSIA, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, ATLA Religion Database, CINAHL, Communication & Mass Media Index, EBSCO Education Source, Educational research abstracts (ERA), EMBASE, Gender Studies Database, MEDLINE, Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index
  • Page Numbers: pp.3279-3286
  • Keywords: Health education, Insomnia, Perimenopausal women, Progressive muscle relaxation, Vasomotor symptoms
  • Lokman Hekim University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to determine the effects of health education (HE) and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), individually or combined, on vasomotor symptoms and insomnia in perimenopausal women. Methods: This study is a single-center, pretest-posttest, randomized controlled trial with a factorial design. The research sample consists of 108 women who were randomly divided into three groups: HE + PMR group (n = 36), PMR group (n = 36) and control group (n = 36). 90 women completed the study. The data were collected in three steps by using instruments of Personal Information Form, Visual Analog Scale and a diary for vasomotor symptoms, Women's Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale. Results: Hot flash and night sweats frequency and severity scores/24 h, the VAS scores for hot flashes and night sweats, and the WHIIRS scores significantly improved more in the intervention groups compared to the control group (p < 0,05). Compared to the group PMR, the group PMR + HE had a greater improvement with larger effect size in all measurements. Conclusions: PMR and HE counseling by nurses benefit perimenopausal women who suffer from insomnia and vasomotor symptoms. Practice implications: PMR combined with HE or PMR alone is effective in managing vasomotor symptoms and insomnia; therefore, they can easily be integrated into clinical practice.