The experiences of menstrual symptom changes among international students studying in China during the acculturation period: A phenomenology study

Objectives Menstruation is a normal physiological phenomenon among female which could be influenced by the process of acculturation.Few studies have explored the experience of menstrual symptom changes among international female students studying in China.Therefore,this paper aims to summarize international female students’experiences of menstrual symptom changes when they were studying in China and interpret these changes through considering the influence of acculturation on their social and academic lives.Methods We used a descriptive phenomenology approach.Structured in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted between May and November 2019 among ten international female students studying in one Province located in south central China.Participants were those who reported having experienced menstrual symptom changes during the acculturation period,which was defined as the first six months of living in China.All interviews were audio-recorded,transcribed verbatim,and analyzed using NVivo 11.0 with the guidance of Colaizzi's seven-step method.Results The international female students’experiences of menstrual symptom changes were summarized and grouped into five main categories and 13 subcategories.The main categories include:1)demonstration of menstrual symptom changes,2)challenges of maintaining menstrual function in the new setting,3)coping styles to take care of menstrual health,4)consequences of the menstrual symptom changes,and 5)culture-based attitude toward menstruation.Conclusions International female students reported experiences of menstrual symptom changes,including somatic and psychological symptoms during the acculturation period.Culture barriers,academic stress,and sleep patterns are common factors influencing their menstrual symptom changes.More culturally-tailored interventions should be explored to improve the menstrual health of international female students in China.

Understanding the pregnant women’s experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic:A qualitative study

Objective To explore and interpret the experiences of pregnant women in Macao region,China during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods Recruitment advertisements were published through multiple social platforms in Macao region,China.A purposive snowball sampling method was adopted to select interviewees.Eighteen women who were confirmed as pregnant from January to May 2020 participated in this qualitative study.Data was collected from November to December 2020 using in-depth personal interviews.One-to-one interviews were conducted by telephone to avoid personal contact.Thematic analysis was used to perform the data analysis and identify emergent themes.Results Five themes emerged from the data analysis:changes in daily life,psychological distress,unique experiences of pregnancy follow-up,trying to pay attention to health information but also feeling overwhelmed,and change in hygiene behaviors due to fear of infection.Six sub-themes were identified:being confined at home but understanding the reasons,financial pressures and timely support from the government,perceived risk of catching the infection,retaining optimism with various help and support,adequate personal protections,and obsessive hygiene behaviors.Conclusion During a pandemic,there is a risk of greater individual isolation,particularly for vulnerable groups such as women in pregnancy.The humanized attention to and support for the residents from the government buffered the adverse impact on the study participants.Preplanning for such events is needed to focus on psychological distress,financial constraints,and prenatal health services.Alternative service delivery,such as telemedicine,online counseling,and virtual reality(VR)technology,should be applied to offer pregnant women timely support and avoid a crisis.