Title: The effect of listening to music and drawing on coping with dysmenorrhea complaints in
nursing students: Randomized controlled trial
Version: 4 Date: 20 Aug 2024
Reviewer's report:
Comments on
The effect of listening to music and drawing in coping with dysmenorrhea complaints of nursing
students experiencing dysmenorrhea: Randomized controlled trial
Abstract
Methods
1. The contents in abstract  are not clear, such as, in part methods The 2nd sentence “The study
included nursing students with dysmenorrhea having a regular menstruation cycle and a Visual
Analog Scale (VAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Menstrual Symptoms Scale (MSS) in
baseline, 1st, and 2rd month. “ in which it is not clear to reader.
Results
2. Researcher should give the comparison about the main results not just only one group pretest
and posttest. Should give the comparison among the two intervention groups and a control group.
Introduction
3. The writing of significant is quite in a good shape. However, it needs more on the qualities
of the song or music, such as, the beat, the volume or decibel that appropriate to lower pain
including  the mechanism to lower menstruation pain.
4. Check for the grammars too.
Methods
5. Need to address clearly about the how to recruit the participations or what type of sampling.
6. Whereas this study is claimed RCT, so how to do the control of extraneous variables, need
to be stated clearly.
7.  “(NCT…………..)” needs to be filled.
8. It is inappropriate to has item of excluded the sample who did not volunteer to participate in
the study. Also please correct the first paragraph as follow:
“We excluded  included  those without pelvic pathology, hearing loss, endocrine, neurologic,
or chronic diseases and psychiatric disease such as diabetes mellitus or heart disease, current
use of medication such as oral contraceptives or antidepressants, menstrual irregularities, mental
problems that interfere with assessment and collaboration, pelvic surgery, malignant condition,
obesity, previous pregnancy, advanced drawing training, advanced music training, use of
vitamin supplements and analgesics, and those who did not volunteer to participate in the study.”
And also please put information how to check these inclusion criteria.
9. It seems that this study did not provide how to control extraneous variables because they used
a simple randomization. If it did not control the confounding variables, this study has to change
to quasi experimental design. Have only many inclusion criteria are not enough for the rule of
MAX-MIN -CON for the RCT.
Instruments
10. Please write the order of content consistency both MSS and PSS.
Intervention and data collection
11. It is not clear about the interventions they are not consistent with the content presenting in
the abstract.
12. Should show the picture/diagram of intervention- implementation and the time point. It is
not easy to be understood.
13. Authors should use new topic  as “intervention” and put music, drawing with their details.
It is not appropriate to put detail of music and drawing in the data collection part.
Outcome measure
14. If used the diagram of research design it might be more understandable.
Statistical analysis
15. It is ok for this. Also if measures more than or equal 2 times, repeated measures ANOVA
may wise to be considered.
Ethical considerations
16. Please fill a blank (………..)  and (NCT……..) completely.
Results
17. Authors should give the unit of age, BMI. And how to measure a logical personality too?
18. Note …..I did not see any attached Table or any Figure in this study.
19. In discussion part on second paragraph need to move this to the results part …… “There was
no statistically significant difference between the female students in the control and experimental
groups regarding descriptive characteristics. This result shows that the groups were similar.”
20. Due to I did not see ANY Table in this manuscript, so I cannot comment.
21. It is question that why the control group had more pain with time passed by, it is not
reasonable.
Discussions
22. The 3rd sentence in second paragraph “Therefore, it can be said that listening to music is
effective for lowering menstrual pain due to dysmenorrhea.” Please put lowering here.
23. Please correct in page 13 about 3 citations which are not correct or inappropriate writing.