AI-Based Education and Menstrual Health Behaviors in Adolescents

May 14, 2026 updated by: Nermin Altunbaş, Cumhuriyet University

Effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence Supported Mobile Education Compared With Face-to-Face and Brochure-Based Education on Dysmenorrhea Self-Care and Genital Hygiene Behaviors in Adolescent Girls: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study is designed as a randomized controlled trial aiming to compare the effectiveness of different educational approaches in improving dysmenorrhea self-care and genital hygiene behaviors among adolescent girls. Participants will be allocated into three groups: an artificial intelligence-supported mobile education group, a face-to-face education group, and a brochure-based control group. The intervention process will be conducted using a pretest-posttest design, with assessments performed at baseline, 4 weeks after baseline, and 8 weeks after baseline. In the artificial intelligence-supported mobile education group, participants will receive individualized and interactive content, while the same content will be delivered directly by the researcher in the face-to-face education group, and written informational materials will be provided to the control group. Valid and reliable instruments assessing dysmenorrhea self-care behaviors and genital hygiene practices will be used for data collection. The findings are expected to provide evidence on the effectiveness of digital health interventions in adolescent health and contribute to the development of nursing practices and health education programs.

Study Overview

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

120

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Sivas
      • Merkez, Sivas, Turkey (Türkiye), 58010
        • Hacı Mehmet Sabancı Anatolian High School

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being aged 14-17 years
  • Having experienced menarche (having an active menstrual cycle)
  • Having experienced dysmenorrhea at least once within the past six months
  • Being a high school student and having the cognitive ability to understand the educational materials
  • Having access to a smartphone and the internet (mandatory for the AI group; preferred for comparability across groups)
  • Willingness to participate in the study voluntarily
  • Provision of parental/legal guardian consent due to being under 18 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having a diagnosed chronic gynecological condition (e.g., endometriosis)
  • Regular use of medications that may affect the menstrual cycle
  • Having previously received structured menstrual health education (to minimize confounding effects)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: AI-Supported Mobile Education Group
Participants will receive artificial intelligence-supported personalized mobile education aimed at improving dysmenorrhea self-care and genital hygiene behaviors. Before the education, participants will complete a pretest including the Sociodemographic Characteristics and Menstruation Information Form, the Genital Hygiene Behaviors Scale, and the Adolescent Dysmenorrhea Self-Care Scale. Educational content will be delivered in a personalized manner through a ChatGPT-based system. The initial education session will be administered at baseline, followed by a reinforcement session 2 weeks after baseline. The educational content will include menstruation knowledge, methods for coping with menstrual pain, healthy genital hygiene behaviors, help-seeking behaviors, and safe self-care practices. Participants will be re-evaluated using the Genital Hygiene Behaviors Scale and the Adolescent Dysmenorrhea Self-Care Scale at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after baseline.
Experimental: Face-to-Face Education Group
Participants will receive face-to-face education delivered by an expert educator aimed at improving dysmenorrhea self-care and genital hygiene behaviors. Before the education, participants will complete a pretest including the Sociodemographic Characteristics and Menstruation Information Form, the Genital Hygiene Behaviors Scale, and the Adolescent Dysmenorrhea Self-Care Scale. The educational content will be delivered face-to-face by the researcher using standardized educational materials. The initial education session will be administered at baseline, followed by a reinforcement session 2 weeks after baseline. The educational content will include menstruation knowledge, methods for coping with menstrual pain, healthy genital hygiene behaviors, help-seeking behaviors, and safe self-care practices. Participants will be re-evaluated using the Genital Hygiene Behaviors Scale and the Adolescent Dysmenorrhea Self-Care Scale at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after baseline.
Active Comparator: Brochure-Based Control Group
Participants will receive an informational brochure aimed at improving dysmenorrhea self-care and genital hygiene behaviors. During the first meeting, participants will complete a pretest including the Sociodemographic Characteristics and Menstruation Information Form, the Genital Hygiene Behaviors Scale, and the Adolescent Dysmenorrhea Self-Care Scale. Afterwards, the same standardized informational brochure will be provided to all participants. The brochure content will include menstruation knowledge, methods for coping with menstrual pain, healthy genital hygiene behaviors, help-seeking behaviors, and safe self-care practices. Participants will be re-evaluated using the Genital Hygiene Behaviors Scale and the Adolescent Dysmenorrhea Self-Care Scale at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after baseline.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Dysmenorrhea Self-Care Behavior Scale Total Score
Time Frame: At baseline, 4 weeks after baseline, and 8 weeks after baseline
Dysmenorrhea self-care behaviors assessed using the Dysmenorrhea Self-Care Behavior Scale. The Dysmenorrhea Self-Care Scale was developed by Hsieh et al. (2004), and its Turkish adaptation was conducted by Sürücü and Ergün (2023). The scale is used to evaluate adolescent girls' self-care experiences related to dysmenorrhea. It consists of 40 items rated on a 6-point Likert-type scale (0 = strongly disagree, 1 = 20% agree, 2 = 40% agree, 3 = 60% agree, 4 = 80% agree, 5 = 100% agree). The scale includes six subdimensions: information seeking (items 1-4), expression of emotions (items 5-10), seeking help (items 11-14), control of external factors (items 15-21), coping practices (items 22-35), and self-control (items 36-40). The total score ranges from 0 to 200. Higher scores indicate better dysmenorrhea self-care behaviors. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients for the overall scale and subdimensions ranged between 0.62 and 0.89.
At baseline, 4 weeks after baseline, and 8 weeks after baseline
Genital Hygiene Behavior Scale Total Score
Time Frame: At baseline, 4 weeks after baseline, and 8 weeks after baseline
Genital hygiene behaviors assessed using the Genital Hygiene Behavior Scale. The Genital Hygiene Behaviors Scale was developed by Karahan (2017), and the Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficient was reported as 0.80. The scale is a five-point Likert-type instrument (1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree) used to evaluate individuals' genital hygiene behaviors. The scale consists of 23 items and includes three subdimensions: "General Hygiene Habits" (items 1-12), "Menstrual Hygiene" (items 13-20), and "Awareness of Abnormal Findings" (items 21-23). Items 7, 14, 19, 20, and 23 are reverse scored. The total score ranges from 23 to 115. Higher scores indicate more positive and adequate genital hygiene behaviors.
At baseline, 4 weeks after baseline, and 8 weeks after baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 20, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 19, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 14, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 14, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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