Knowledge and perception of postmenopausal women towards menopause

Authors

  • Haamid Ismail Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
  • Farhana Fayaz Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Government Medical College, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
  • Nadia Ismail Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20204878

Keywords:

Knowledge, Menopause, Perception

Abstract

Background: Aim of the research was to study the knowledge and perception of postmenopausal women towards menopause.

Methods: It was a cross sectional study which was carried at outpatient department of psychiatry, Government medical college, Srinagar over a period of 3 months. Participants who fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the study were evaluated on a semi-structured proforma for demographic variables, knowledge and attitude towards menopause.

Results: A total of 120 postmenopausal women were included in our study. Mean age of study population was s 54.5±8.6 years. Majority of women belonged to rural background (80.0%) in the age group of 51-60 years (58.3%), married (78.3%), having 1-3 issues (53.3%) and had received no formal education (67.5%). Menopause was natural in (80.8%) of women and (19.2%) had surgical menopause. 85% of study population had heard about menopause at the time their periods stopped mostly from family elders and friends. 45% had knowledge about the age of the menopause, while as only (20.8%) were aware about the symptoms of menopause. 56.6% of study population were having positive perception about the menopause.

Conclusions: Majority of our women were unaware of menopausal symptoms. Most of them considered it as a natural process of aging and thus were having a positive perception about the menopause.

References

Abernity K. Preparing for what to Expert Proof Care Mother Child. Menopause. 1999;8(3):67-70.

Lund KJ. Menopause and the menopausal transition. Med Clin North Am. 2008;92(5):1253-71.

Adewuyi TDO, Akinade EA. Perception and attitudes of Nigerian women towards menopause. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2010;5:1777-82.

Ferguson K, Hoegh C, Johnson S. Estrogen replacement therapy. A survey of women’s knowledge and attitudes. Arch Intern M ED. 1989;149:133-6.

Avis NE, McKinlay SM. A longitudinal analysis of women’s attitudes toward the menopause: results from the Massachusetts Women’s Health Study. Maturitas. 1991;13:65-79.

Pan HA, Wu MH, Hsu CC, Yao BL, Huang KE. Perception of menopause among women in Taiwan. Maturitas. 2002;41(4):269-74.

Velasco MV, Navarrete HE, Ojede MRI. Experience and knowledge about climacteric & menopause in women in Mexico City. Ged Med Mex. 2000;136(6):555-64.

Adekunle AO, Fawole AO, Okunlola MA. Perceptions and attitudes of Nigerian women about the menopause. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2000;20(5):525-9.

Baig LA, Karim SA. Age at menopause, and knowledge of and attitudes to menopause, of women in Karachi, Pakistan. J Br Menopause Soc. 2006;12(2):71-4.

Blalt MHG, Wiesbader H, Kupperman HS. Vitamin E and climacteric syndrome: failure of effective control as measured by menopausal index. Arch Intern Med. 1953;91:792-9.

Chang C, Chow SN, Hu Y. Age of menopause of Chinese women in Taiwan. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 1995;49(2):191-2.

Chen YL, Voda AM, Mansfield PK. Chinese midlife women’s perceptions and attitude about menopause. Menopause. 1998;5(1):28-34.

Aaron R, Muliyet J. Abrehan S. Medico-social dimension of menopause: a cross national study from rural south India. Nalt Med J India. 2002;15:14-7.

Aso T. Demography of menopause and pattern of climacteric symptom in the East Asian region. First consensus meeting on menopause in East Asia region. 2003. Available at: http://www.gfmee.ch/ books/booknp/24.htn 24. Accessed on: 25 July 2020.

Punyahotra S, Dennerstein L, Lehcat P. Menopausal experiences of Thai women. Part 1: Symptoms and their correlates. Maturitas. 1997;26:1-7.

Downloads

Published

2020-10-28

How to Cite

Ismail, H., Fayaz, F., & Ismail, N. (2020). Knowledge and perception of postmenopausal women towards menopause. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 8(11), 3920–3923. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20204878

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles