Knowledge and Perception of Pre-menopausal Women about Menopause

Abstract

Background: Menopause is a universal physiological condition that annually affects more than 500 millionwomen aged from 42 to 55 years with an average age of 51 years. Aim: this study aimed to assess knowledge andperception of premenopausal women about menopause. Study design: A cross sectional descriptive design. Setting: thestudy was carried out at Mansoura University Hospitals. Study sample: A convenient sample of 382 premenopausalfemale employees. Tools: Data was collected using a questionnaire included three parts; part one covered sociodemographiccharacteristics, part two covered knowledge about menopause and part three covered perception ofpremenopausal women. Results: More than two-thirds of the studied women had poor knowledge regarding causes ofmenopause (lack of hormonal production which regulates menstruation and no response of ovaries to follicle stimulatinghormone). Most of them had poor knowledge regarding menopausal symptoms as frequency of urination, depression andmood swings. Most women had poor knowledge regarding physical coping mechanisms during menopause in addition tomore than three-quarters of them were unaware of hormonal replacement therapy. More than two-thirds of womenexpressed hatred and worrying about menopause. Majority of women verbalized that menopausal women are losing theirphysical strength and youthfulness. Conclusion: More than one-third of women had poor knowledge and three-quartersof them had negative perception about menopause. There was positive correlation between level of knowledge andperception of the studied premenopausal women about menopause. Recommendation: Spreading information to raiseawareness among premenopausal women to improve knowledge and attain positive perception about menopause.