The effect of cold pad application on menopasual hot flashes and sleep quality in women with menopasual hot flashes

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of cold pad application on menopausal hot flashes and sleep quality in women with menopausal hot flashes.. Materials-Methods: The research was completed with 80 women, 40 in the control group and 40 in the experimental group, who were in the menopausal period and suffered from hot flashes, registered in a Quran course in Central Anatolia. Data; Introductory Information Form, Visual comparison scale (GCS), and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) were collected. The experimental group was allowed to put a cold pad under their pillow every night before going to sleep for 8 weeks. At the end of the 4th and 8th weeks after the application, the women were re-evaluated with PUKI, while the control group was re-evaluated at the end of the 4th and 8th weeks without being tied to an application. In addition, women marked the severity of hot flashes on GCS every night before going to bed and when they woke up in the morning. Independent Sample t test was used in the evaluation of the data, and repeated analysis of variance was used in the in-group evaluation of repeated measurements. The chi-square test was used to compare the qualitative characteristics of the groups. Results: The pre-experimental PSQI and GCS mean scores of the groups were similar. After the cold pad application, it was determined that the mean PSQI score of the women in the experimental group at the 4th week (7.7±2.1) was significantly lower than that of the women in the control group at the 4th week (9.0±2.6) ( p<0.05). After the eighth week, it was found that the mean PSQI score of the experimental group (5.0±2.5) was significantly lower than that of the control group (10.9±4.2) (p<0.001). It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference in the mean PSQI score of the women in the experimental group between the 4th and 8th weeks before and after the application (p<0.001). It was determined that the mean GCS of the women in the experimental group at the 4th week after the application (7.4±0.7) was significantly higher than the mean of the GCS at the 4th week of the women in the control group (p<0.05). After the eighth week, the mean GCS of the experimental group (6.6±0.8) was found to be significantly higher than the mean of the control group (7.4±0.8) (p<0.001). Conclusion: It was determined that cold pad application significantly decreased the severity of hot flashes and increased sleep quality significantly in women.