en Reproductive Health Reproductive Health پژوهشي Original Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:13.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Background:</span></span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> Dysmenorrhea is prevalent among young women, yet professional healthcare seeking remains suboptimal. This study evaluated healthcare-seeking behaviors and associated barriers among nursing and midwifery students who will serve as future healthcare providers.</span></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:13.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Methods:</span></span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 337 female nursing and midwifery students across three health-training institutions in Ghana, recruited via stratified random sampling. Data collected via pre-tested, self-administered questionnaires were analyzed using chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression in SPSS v29.0. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (COR, AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.</span></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:13.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Results:</span></span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> Overall, 49.9% of participants had never sought medical care for dysmenorrhea. Key barriers included pain normalization, financial constraints, knowledge deficits, and fear of procedures. A composite knowledge and perception related barrier was significantly associated with healthcare-seeking behavior (&chi;&sup2; = 17.60, p < 0.001; AOR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.50&ndash;4.72). Financial barriers were significant in unadjusted analysis (COR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.13&ndash;3.01; p = 0.013) but attenuated after adjustment was no longer statistically significant. Healthcare workers&#39; perceived knowledge and attitudes were also significantly associated with care seeking (&chi;&sup2; = 3.44, p = 0.046).</span></span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:13.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Conclusion:</span></span></b> <span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Nearly half of the trainees did not seek care for dysmenorrhea, largely driven by symptom normalization and perceptual barriers. Educational interventions targeting pain misconceptions and clarifying clinical evaluation thresholds are warranted. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm causality.</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span></span></div> Dysmenorrhea, Ghana, Healthcare-seeking behavior, Menstrual health Midwifery students, Nursing students 48 55 http://caspjrm.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-12-162-4&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Bayor Surazu Surajah92@gmail.com 10031947532846002733 10031947532846002733 Yes Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Zuarungu, Ghana Ekuwa Dede Ackon 10031947532846002734 10031947532846002734 No Esther Dodd 10031947532846002735 10031947532846002735 No Edinam Zico Ansah 10031947532846002736 10031947532846002736 No Barbara Baaba Baidoo 10031947532846002737 10031947532846002737 No Ernestina Afro Newman 10031947532846002738 10031947532846002738 No Mavis Oboh 10031947532846002739 10031947532846002739 No