Experience of dysmenorrhoea and self-care strategies among female students in a tertiary institution, Ibadan, Nigeria Tobi Esther Adeoye 1 , Oyedunni Sola Arulogun 1* , Isaac Oluwafemi Dipeolu 1 , Kafayah Adeola Jidda 2 1 Faculty of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion and Education, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria 2 Faculty of Education, Department of Health Promotion and Environmental Health Education, University of Ilorin, Nigeria * Corresponding author’s Email: oyedunniarulogun@gmail.com ABSTRACT Background: The objective of the study was to investigate dysmenorrhoea experiences and self-care among female undergraduate students in two halls of residence at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, South West, Nigeria. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used, and 354 consenting female students aged 16-29 years who were residents in the halls participated in the study. A self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Knowledge was assessed on an 11-point scale, scores of 0-5 and 6-11 were categorised poor and good, respectively while perception was measured on a 13-point scale, scores of 0-6 and 7-13 were also categorised negative and positive, respectively. Data were word-processed using IBM SPSS software and analysed. Results presented in descriptive and inferential statistics at p<0.05. Results: Respondents’ age was 20.4 ± 2.4 years. Only 22.0% correctly stated the two types of dysmenorrhoea. Some (16.9%) correctly recognised family history, the age of menarche (8.5%), and excessive sugar intake (87.6%) as factors predisposing someone to dysmenorrhoea. Most respondents, 67.2%, believed dysmenorrhoea is normal. Nature of pain experienced by the respondents varied from mild (10.2%), moderate (44.4%) and severe (30.2%) with the majority (91.2%) experiencing pain in the lower abdomen. Most respondents (96.6%) had poor knowledge of dysmenorrhoea, the mean knowledge score was 1.5 ± 1.3. The reported effects of dysmenorrhoea include a strained relationship with friends (50.3%), missing school (50.6%), mood swing (59.0%) and lack of concentration in class (61.6%). Use of medication (35.1%) and physical exercise (21.2%) was reported ways of preventing dysmenorrhoea. The majority, (87%) used drugs which are often associated with side effects. Conclusion: Majority of the respondents had poor knowledge about the types and major cause of dysmenorrhoea. Varied measures were taken in the management of the health condition. Health education interventions such awareness, sensitisation and use of appropriate behaviour change communication strategy aimed at addressing these gaps is of import. Keywords: Dysmenorrhoea knowledge, Dysmenorrhoea perception, Dysmenorrhoea experience, Female students, Tertiary institution, Dysmenorrhoea self-management. INTRODUCTION Menarche has been noted to be one of the most expressive milestones in a woman’s life (Pitangui et al. 2013; Deligeoroglou and Tsimaris 2010 and . Menstrual cycle disturbances, such as menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, and irregular cycles, are common during adolescence and adults of reproductive age (Roberts, 2012; Chung, 2011 and . Dysmenorrhoea is painful menstruation or pain during menstruation (within the menstrual cycle) and a common Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences Vol. 10(1) pp 51-60, January, 2019 DOI: htp:/dx.doi.org/10.14303/jmms.2019.1 Available online htp://www.interesjournals.org/JMMS Copyright ©2019 Internatonal Research Journals Research