A Study on Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Menopause among Rural and Urban Married Women in Mangalore

Abstract

"Menopause is an event in life, not a disease". It is a single event in a woman's life - her last menstrual period. Menarche heralds the onset of reproductive function, and menopause signals its end. Objectives of the study. To assess the knowledge among urban and rural married women regarding menopause. To identify the attitude of urban and rural married women regarding menopause. Methods: A descriptive survey approach was used in this study. The sample size consisted of 100 married women aged between 40-50 years belonging to the urban and rural areas. The sampling technique used for the study was purposive. The tool used for gathering relevant data was SIS and attitude scale. Results: The study revealed that a majority of women both in rural area (60%) and urban area (58%) belonged to age group of 40-45 years. Major findings of the study: * Most of the women in rural area (78%) had average knowledge and a majority of women in urban area (62%) had satisfactory knowledge regarding menopause. * Most of the women in rural area (84%) and urban area (98%) had favorable attitude towards menopause. * There was significant difference between knowledge scores (t 100 =5.77, p<0.05 tabled value 1.98) and attitude scores (t 100 =8, p<0.05, tabled value 1.98) of rural and urban married women regarding menopause. Conclusion: Menopausal health is important since this stage of life is not to be avoided. Nurses as health personnel can assess knowledge and identify attitudes towards menopause and help them to select coping strategies to overcome the menopausal problems.