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Background and aims: Current research promotes complementary methods of coping with menstrual pain (MP). The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Kinesio Taping (KT) intervention on MP and determine whether KT has therapeutic impact or whether there is presence of placebo. Methods: In within-subject design, 30 female participants were divided into two groups: the first group received an application of KT spatial correction technique (E), then placebo KT (P), while in the other group the reverse order of interventions was used. Every phase included one menstrual cycle. The average age of participants was 23.5 years (18-39). VAS, Brief Pain Inventory Scale, and some SF-36 subscales were used in the assessment. Results: The worst MP without any intervention (6.17) did not significantly differ from P phase (6.07) but decreased significantly to 5.10 during E phase (F=18.38 ; p=0.000). There was also a significant difference between E and P phase in the average MP, in the worst experienced MP, the mildest one, and for current pain: in E phase all types of pain were less intense. Regarding quality of life, significantly better results were obtained during phase E for physical functioning, energy/fatigue, role limitations due to physical health, and due to pain. For emotional well-being and general health there weren’t significant differences between E and P phase. Conclusions: KT has beneficial effect in reducing MP and its consequences and it is significantly superior to placebo. The order of intervention showed no statistical significance, which also confirms the therapeutic effect of KT.

The researchers aim to examine the effects of environmental pollutants on the total fertility rate in developing regions and test the validity of an environmental theory. The researchers adopt countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regions as case studies. Environmental issues are captured using carbon dioxide (CO

In this study, the researchers investigated to the impact of pregnant women's health-seeking behavior and mode of birth preferences on pregnancy distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was conducted with 351 pregnant women. The risk rate of pregnancy distress using the Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale (TPDS) cut-off point was 16.5%. 13.3% of pregnant women changed their mode of birth preferences due to the pandemic. The risk of pregnancy distress in women who changed their mode of birth preferences due to the pandemic increased 5.4 times more than in those who preferred vaginal birth before and during the pandemic (OR: 5.4, p0.001). We determined that the increase in the Health Seeking Behavior Scale total scores had a reducing effect on pregnancy distress due to a lack of partner involvement for TPDS.

The global value of the menstrual product market recently surpassed 40 billion dollars, yet little attention has been paid to how menstrual product advertising may impact women's perceptions of menstruation. We interviewed a diverse cohort of 18 adult women to understand how menstrual product advertising shapes women's interpretations of their bodies and the menstrual process. Three themes emerged, including gendered stigmatization, depictions of hyper-feminine women, and false narratives about periods. We concluded that dominant patriarchal images of women on their periods persist in female-targeted advertising and offer solutions for advertisers to eliminate stigmas and encompass inclusivity.

The present cross-sectional study is an attempt to evaluate menopausal symptoms with changing hormone milieus among women of different menopausal transitional stages. Out of all the symptoms, sexual dysfunction was the most commonly occurring symptom. Results of the correspondence analysis exhibited a significant association of symptoms like 'feeling unhappy', 'feeling dizzy', 'parts of body feeling numb' and 'musclejoint pain' with late postmenopausal stage. Therefore, the assessment of menopausal health of women in rural settings of developing countries like India is of considerable significance for promoting their post reproductive health as well as for enhancing their quality of life.

Hysterosalpingography (HSG) is the first-line investigation in infertility assessment to assess tubal patency. Clinicians use various instruments, including the Leich-Wilkinson cannula, Rubin cannula, Jorcho's cannula, Whitehead cannula, and foley's catheter, to instill the dye in the uterus. We randomly allocated 60 patients planned for hysterosalpingography to evaluate tubal patency as part of fertility workup to either Intra-uterine foley's catheter arm or Leich-Wilkinson cannula arm. The research team measured and compared immediate and delayed numerical pain scores in both arms. We observed significantly lower pain scores in Foley's catheter arm as compared to the Leich-Wilkinson arm for both early (5.7 ± 3.01 vs. 7.8 ± 1.95) and delayed (0.15 ± 0.37 vs. 0.40 ± 0.50) evaluation. We established that using a Foley catheter for the HSG procedure was associated with lesser pain to the patient, with no evident difference regarding imaging of the uterus and tubes.

We examined the burnout status, professional satisfaction and intention to leave the profession of nurses who are actively working in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic period. We conducted the descriptive study with 371 nurses and collected using Copenhagen Burnout Scale (CBS), Occupational satisfaction scale (OSS) and Intention to leave the profession scale (ILPS). In this study, nurses showed a high level of exhaustion and intention to leave work, and a low level of occupational satisfaction. In the fight against COVID-19, the continuity of health services, at the same time, in order to provide adequate quality and safe health care, reducing working hours, bringing the shifts to an appropriate and reasonable time, improving the working environment and approaches that will increase their motivation and professional satisfaction are important to prevent nurses from experiencing burnout and to keep them in their professions and workplaces.

Six-minute walk test (6MWT) is a simple test measuring submaximal functional capacity. Various factors such as anthropometric, demographic, and physiological characteristics, are associated with functional decline. However, few authors have dealt with the link between functional decline and parity. Thus, the researchers aimed to measure the six-minute walk distance (6MWD) in healthy Indian women and to determine the factors influencing 6MWD in Indian females, with particular attention to parity. Two hundred asymptomatic females aged 45-60 years were recruited for this cross-sectional study based on selection criteria. A single 6MWT was performed and a 6MWD was recorded. Mean ± SD 6MWD was 483.03 ± 50.22 m. Parity significantly affected the 6MWD among Indian females (r = 0.418, p = 0.0001). Parity is an important factor influencing female functional capacity and should be considered when assessing and prescribing rehabilitation in female participants.

Researchers have examined the efficacy of a horticultural stress management program for menopausal women. The quasi-experimental research design was employed by providing stress management and horticulture techniques to the experimental group (

The relationship between body image (BI) and quality of life (QoL) among postmenopausal women was assessed in this study. This correlational cross-sectional study was conducted on 320 postmenopausal women in Tehran-Iran. The participants were selected using a multistage sampling method. Data was collected using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire, the Fisher's body image questionnaire, and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Total score and score of all domains of QoL had a significant positive correlation with total score and score of all dimensions of BI and BI was a predictor of QoL (

In this study the researchers aimed to determine the effect of abdominal massage and stretching exercises on the severity of pain, dysmenorrhea symptoms and menstrual blood lost in university students. In this single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial 63 university students were included. Participants were randomly assigned into massage group, exercise and control groups. Our findings showed that the 2

The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased at an alarming rate despite several actions to reverse this trend. It is important to focus on tackling the constraints for healthy food provisioning. We focus on identifying segments of mothers in relation to factors acting as barriers to healthy eating. Five hundred mothers in each country (Argentina, France and Denmark) completed an online survey. In each of the three countries, four segments are identified, varying mostly on working and socio-economic status, self-efficacy and attitudes to health experts. Segments of mothers who are skeptical to nutrition advice from health professionals were identified. Another important finding is that staying-at-home mothers might face more barriers to healthy eating than mothers who work outside the home. We provide suggestions for targeted interventions addressing healthy eating behaviors among mothers with different profiles.

The researchers' aim is to examine the postural stability and flexibility responses of yoga training in women. The authors conducted the yoga training program 2 days a week and they assessed flexibility using the sit and reach test, trunk hyperextension test and trunk lateral flexion test. The researchers measured static and dynamic balance employing the device and database system. Then, the authors repeated all assesments were at the end of the first, the fifth and the tenth sessions. As a result of this study, the researchers revealed that the male participants had significantly poorer results in a single parameter (longitudinal sway) when compared with the female group, but the groups were statistically equivalent in this parameter after the first yoga training session. The authors also revealed that yoga was effective in improving flexibility among healthy young adults of both sexes, although the males showed greater improvement than females in the flexibility results.

In an effort to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, a rural health system in Papua New Guinea implemented a two-week midwifery training program for 47 nurses and community health workers. We evaluated this program by administering pre- and post-training knowledge tests, focus group discussions, a clinical vignette task, and key informant interviews. Participants improved significantly in their midwifery knowledge and demonstrated effective care in the clinical vignettes. Participants described the training as novel and beneficial. Program leaders were motivated to scale up the program and assess community-level impact. This program has strong potential to improve local obstetric care capacity.

We aimed to investigate the relationship between body compositions and locomotive syndrome in older women and derive body composition cutoff values to evaluate locomotive syndrome severity. In total, 236 women were included in this study. The percentage of body fat and skeletal muscle mass index was measured using multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis. The locomotive syndrome severity (stage 0-3) was determined using the standup test, the two-step test, and a self-administered questionnaire. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the cutoff value for body fat percentage was 33.1% for locomotive syndrome stage 1 in women. This finding may aid in designing exercise and nutritional interventions to prevent locomotive syndrome in older women.

The author analyzes the effects of health burdens on labour productivity amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa. He employed Common Correlated Effects (CCE) estimation of Heterogeneous Dynamic Panel data Model to estimate a sample of 45 African countries from 1990 to 2020. Our result shows that health burden exact dynamic negative long-term spilling effect on labour productivity, such that a 1% point increase, ceteris paribus, in health burden would decrease labour productivity by 6.5% for the full sample estimate, 5.8% for the upper-middle-income, 22% in the lower middle income, and 26% for the low-income economies, respectively. Our results further indicates divergence effects, such that, the low income and lower-middle-income economies are most burdened by Covid-19 induced health crises, leading to diminished labour productivity compared with the upper-middle-income economies in Africa. This implies that Covid-19 exacerbated health burdens devalue Africa's labour assets and forces the over-burdened economies' labour productivity to diminish.

The researchers' aims are to determine the effect of cold cabbage leaf application on breast engorgement and pain during the postpartum period through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Between June and September 2021, researchers systematically searched Turkish and English databases using a combination of keywords. We calculated individual and general effect sizes of the studies to evaluate effect sizes. We obtained 25,996 results with the databases search and we included a total of eight studies for analysis. According to the pooled results, we determined that cold cabbage leaf application caused a significant reduction in breast pain, though no significant reduction was seen in breast engorgement. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we found that cold cabbage leaf application was effective in reducing breast pain, but that more experimental studies are needed to determine its effect on breast engorgement.CALLOUTSBreast engorgement is a common physiological problem for lactating mothers.Researchers state that the results of the eight studies included in the analysis suggested that cold cabbage leaf application was effective in reducing breast pain.More studies are needed to evaluate the effect of cold cabbage application on reducing breast engorgement.