Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Women Aged 45-60 Years about Menopausal Health

Background and Objectives

Menopause is a normal essential change in women’s body. Acquiring enough knowledge and adopting the right attitude along with suitable practice about menopause, at menopause and earlier age, is important for women to encounter better with its associated consequences and lead a healthy life. The aim of this investigation was to study knowledge, attitudes and practice of women who live in Ahar, one of the big cities in East Azerbaijan Province, about menopausal health.

Material and Methods

This was a cross-sectional study including females aged 45-60, conducted from November 2018 to March 2019 in the three healthcare facility centers in Ahar, Iran. Convenience sampling method was employed in this study. For data collection, a standard questionnaire was applied whose validity and reliability had been approved. Through using SPSS16, independent samples T test and multiple regression analysis were employed for Data analysis.

Results

A total of 242 women participated in this study. More than half of the participants were illiterate or just had received elementary education (55.67%) and most of them were married (94.6 %). The mean knowledge, attitude and practice scores were 22.52 ± 3.21 (at the range of zero to 25), 7.81 ± 1.27(at the range of zero to 10) and 2.14±1.33 (at the range of zero to 5), respectively. In multiple regression analysis, there was a statistically significant difference in knowledge, attitude and practice of women’s score with respect to education (p value <0.001).

Conclusion

Though women aged 45-60 years had adequate knowledge and the right attitude toward menopausal health, their practice on this subject was inappropriate. Relevant and useful interventions are required to improve their practice

Extended Abstract