Premenstrual syndrome is a cyclical disorder characterized by physical and emotional
symptoms that appear in the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and subside within a
few days with the onset of menstruation. Although the etiology is not known precisely,
many factors are thought to be effective. Premenstrual symptoms that occur in the second
half of the menstrual cycle negatively affect the lives of many women. Pharmacological,
non-pharmacological and surgical methods are used as treatment methods.
Non-pharmacological methods should be recommended first to women who experience PMS
symptoms. Non-pharmacological methods have advantages such as increasing the
effectiveness of analgesic drugs, reducing the need for drugs, preventing the side
effects of the drug and not bringing too much economic burden. For this purpose, it is
planned to apply foot bath to university students with premenstrual syndrome. Although
many studies have been conducted both in our country and abroad on university students'
coping with PMS, no study has been found that investigates the effect of foot bathing on
premenstrual syndrome severity, sleep quality and quality of life to cope with PMS.
The study was planned as a randomized controlled single-blind study. The universe of the
research will be female students studying at Ordu University Faculty of Education in the
2021-2022 academic year. In the first stage of the study, female students who are 18
years of age and older and who voluntarily agree to participate in the research will be
taken without making a sample selection. The number of students to be included in the
intervention and control groups of the research will be determined according to the
results of the power analysis in the G-Power 3.1.9.7 program. Considering the possibility
of data loss during the research process, it was planned to work on 39 intervention and
39 control groups, including a total of 78 women, 10% of the calculated sample size. In
the collection of data; Personal Information Form, Premenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS),
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), SF-36 Quality of Life Scale will be used. PSQI and
SF-36 Quality of Life Scale will be applied to students in the intervention (footbath)
group by the researcher. Students will be given footbath practice training, which takes
approximately 30-40 minutes. During the training, it will be shown how to apply foot
bath. The foot bath will be applied for 3 months, starting 7-10 days before the menstrual
cycle, that is, in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The researcher will send a
reminder message to the students every day for 7-10 days, starting 7-10 days before the
period according to the previous menstrual period of the students. Students will be asked
to fill out the Footbath Monitoring Form in order to assess whether they have taken a
footbath. Those who apply foot bath at least 7 times will be included in the study. In
case of less than seven students, the student will be excluded from the research and the
new student who meets the criteria will be included in the research. At the end of each
cycle, PMSÖ, PSQI and SF-36 will be administered to the students by the researcher. When
the students in the Control Group are determined, PSQI and SF-36 will be applied by the
researcher, and then PMSÖ, PSQI and SF-36 will be applied at the end of each cycle.
In this study, the effect of applying foot bath to university students with premenstrual
syndrome on premenstrual syndrome symptoms, sleep quality and quality of life will be
determined. It is thought that the low-cost, easy-to-apply foot bath will reduce symptoms
and increase sleep quality and quality of life in women with PMS. As a result of the
research, it will be possible to ensure that this application is among the other
non-pharmacological methods used to cope with PMS and its use will become widespread.
Thus, by increasing the sleep quality and quality of life of university students who are
adversely affected by PMS symptoms, their school, work and social lives will be changed
positively, and positive contributions will be made to their daily lives.