Physical activity among Taiwanese women with menstrual symptoms

The purpose of this Internet study was to explore physical activity involvement among Taiwanese women with menstrual symptoms while considering their physio-psycho-socio-cultural contexts. The specific aims of the study were to determine the relationships among physical activity involvement, demographic variables, and physio-psycho-socio-cultural factors (including menstrual attitudes, menstrual symptoms and patterns, as well as gender and cultural factors) and to explore physical-activity experiences relative to social and cultural contexts among Taiwanese women with and without menstrual symptoms. A theoretical framework that incorporated the feminist perspectives developed from the literature was used to guide the study. This cross-sectional Internet study used triangulation in that the study collected and analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative methods were used to obtain data about the relationships among demographic factors; women’s attitudes toward menstruation, menstrual symptoms and patterns; and physical-activity involvement. Qualitative methods were used to capture the women’s experiences with physical activity within the physio-psycho-socio-cultural contexts of their lives. For the quantitative part, 210 self-identified Taiwanese women were recruited using a convenience sampling method. The qualitative part included 30 women who were recruited from the Internet survey participants. Four instruments were used in the quantitative part of the study: a demographic information sheet, the Chinese Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall, the Chinese Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, and the Chinese Menstrual Attitudes Questionnaire. In the qualitative part, ten unstructured questions were used to gather narrative data on three topics. All the quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent-sample t-tests, bivariate correlation, one-way ANOVA, and stepwise linear regressions using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS for Windows, Release 12.0). The qualitative data from the e-mail group discussions were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Physical activity involvement (METs) was significantly predicted by the number of children, the education level, and the attitude towards menstruation as a natural event. Nine themes were identified from the narrative data obtained through the e-mail discussion, including two themes related to the meaning of physical activity, three themes related to menstruation, and four themes related to the meaning of being a woman.Nursin