Menopause Symptom Management in Perimenopause and Postmenopausal Period
Condition: Menopause
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Aim:The aim of this study is to relieve menopause symptoms and improve quality of life by
      applying progressive muscle relaxation exercises to women in perimenopause and postmenopausal
      period.

      Method: This study was planned as a pre-test, post-test, semi-interventional and control
      group study in order to relieve menopausal symptoms and to evaluate the effect on improving
      quality of life by applying progressive muscle relaxation exercises to women in perimenopause
      and postmenopausal period.

      In the study, Individual Information Form, Menopause Symptom Rating Scale, Menopause Specific
      Quality of Life Scale were used to collect data.

      The intervention group consisted of female students enrolled in GeroAtlas60 + Refresher
      University, which is a project of the Department of Gerontology, Faculty of Health Sciences,
      Akdeniz University. The Control group consisted of female students enrolled in the
      Mediterranean Family Health and Education Association. All female students who accepted to
      participate in the study and who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. At
      the beginning of the study, pre-tests were applied to all participants. After 11 weeks of
      progressive muscle relaxation exercises, final tests were applied to the intervention group.
      The control group also underwent post-tests 11 weeks after any intervention. Progressive
      muscle relaxation exercises were then performed. After the researcher's explanation, the
      participants filled in the data collection forms themselves.

      The post test data was collected in Jun 2019. The data will be entered in the SPSS file and
      the analysis of the data will be performed in the next stage.
    

Detailed description: 
      This study was conducted as a pre-test, post-test, semi-interventional and control group
      study to evaluate the effect of progressive muscle relaxation exercises on perimenopausal and
      postmenopausal women to relieve menopause symptoms and improve quality of life.

      According to the World Health Organization, menopause is defined as a permanent termination
      of menstruation due to loss of ovarian activity . Menopause is a period of life from which
      the reproductive ability is lost, due to the decline in ovarian function of women. If
      menstruation is not observed for one year at the end of the reproductive period, menopause is
      considered to have started. Menopausal symptoms begin to appear in the premenopausal period
      and the effects continue in the postmenopausal period.

      It is stated that symptoms seen in perimenopausal and post menopausal period adversely affect
      the quality of life of women. According to the results of the study, progressive relaxation
      exercises in perimenopause and postmenopausal women alleviate and relieve stress, anxiety and
      depression, pain, hot flash, and regulate blood pressure and pulse sleep.

      Ethics committee approval and institutional permissions were obtained before starting the
      study. Written and verbal consent was obtained from all participants. In the study,
      Individual Information form, Menopause Symptom Rating Scale, Menopause Specific Quality of
      Life Scale were used to collect data. These data collection tools were used in the pre-test
      and post-test.

      Women students who were registered to GeroAtlas60 + Refresher University of Akdeniz
      University Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Gerontology were appointed as an
      intervention group by lot method. Female students who accepted to participate in the study
      were divided into five groups and pre-tests were performed. The intervention group received
      45 minutes of menopause symptom management training twice a week for two weeks. Then, 45
      minutes of progressive muscle relaxation exercises were performed. In the first session, the
      participants were given a booklet of menopause management and progressive muscle relaxation
      exercises prepared by the researchers. At the end of the two-week learning process, the
      participants were given Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercise Guide and Progressive Muscle
      Relaxation Exercise Calendar. At the same time, audio recording including Menopause
      Management and Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercise application, which the researcher
      recorded by himself, was sent via wat's up. Reminder messages were sent to the participants
      via wta's up to remind them to come on the application days, the application to be held in
      the evening and do it themselves at home.Participants performed Progressive Muscle Relaxation
      Exercise two days a week in the presence of researchers. They recorded the voice of the
      researcher at home every other day. They marked their practice on the Progressive Muscle
      Relaxation Exercise Calendar for 11 weeks. This marked calendar was withdrawn from the
      participants at the end of the 11-week practice. After 11 weeks of progressive muscle
      relaxation exercises, post tests were applied to the intervention group. The control group
      also underwent post-tests 11 weeks after any intervention. Progressive muscle relaxation
      exercises were then performed. After the researcher's explanation, the participants filled in
      the data collection forms themselves.

      The post test data was collected in Jun 2019. The data will be entered in the SPSS file and
      the analysis of the data will be performed in the next stage.
    

Intervention name(s): intervention group
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Parallel Assignment a experimental design with pre test and post test
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Parallel Assignment a experimental design with pre test and post test
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: menopause management; progressive muscle relaxation; nursing