A Study to Assess the Knowledge regarding Menopause and its Management Among Women in Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thrissur

Abstract

Menopause is a biological process with likely to lead to various pathological and psychological complications leading to changing quality of life. These constitute the post menopausal syndrome; they are impairing to great extend to the women and management of these symptoms has become very important. Awareness about menopausal problems and their management will help all women to cope up with changing situations. Post menopause is defined as the stage beginning 12 months after the last menstruation. Post menopausal women are described as those women who have stopped menstrual bleeding one year ago or stopped having periods as a result of medical or surgical intervention (Hysterectomy/Oophorectomy) or both. With increasing life expectancy, women spend 1/3rd of life in this phase. It is estimated that by the end of 2021, there will be 130 million elderly women in India, necessitating substantial amount of care. Menopause is a time of significant hormonal change for women. Approximately, 80% of women experience hot flushes and night sweats during this transition, which may last for 9 years or more. Other symptoms related to the hormonal changes of menopause include problems with mood, memory, concentration, sleep and joint pains. The present study was aimed to assess the knowledge regarding menopause and its management among women in Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thrissur. The objectives of the study were to assess the level of knowledge of women regarding menopause and its management, to find the association between level of knowledge and baseline variables and to prepare an information leaflet on menopause. The research approach was quantitative and the research design adopted was descriptive design. Thirty women were selected by convenience sampling technique. Data was collected using structured questionnaire to assess the knowledge on menopause and to assess the baseline variables. The results showed that out of total 30 samples, 1 (3.3%) had good knowledge level, 9 (30%) had average knowledge level, 18 (12%) had poor knowledge level, 2 (6.6%) had very poor knowledge level.