A cross sectional study to estimate the health care needs of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women

Abstract

Perimenopause is the period when a woman moves from the reproductive phase to non-reproductive. Postmenopause is a complete cessation of menstrual cycles for 12 months or more. Menopausal symptoms may affect their health and quality of life. To estimate the health care needs of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. It is a cross-sectional study of one hundred women. Participants of the age group 40-70 years were recruited by using consecutive sampling technique. Data was collected by interviewing participants as per a pretested, and validated questionnaire. Apart from the information profile, data was collected regarding the reproductive profile; Obstetrics history; prevalence of perimenopausal and postmenopausal symptoms; and sources used to acquire information about menopause. The mean age of participants was 53.04 ± 7.35 years. Mean age of attaining menopause was 46.88 ± 4.93 years. Majority of the participants (96%) were vegetarian, half (50%) were overweight as per their BMI. More than half (56%) of the participants reported never doing exercises. The commonly prevalent menopausal symptoms were hot flushes (88%), more tired than usual (86%), joint pains (82%), depressed mood (78%), facing difficulty falling asleep (65%). Most of the participants (74%) rated their level of knowledge little regarding menopausal symptoms and their management. The most frequently used source of information were television/ internet (52%), and friends (47%). Participants require education, appropriate health-related information, counselling services, and availability of affordable, reliable, and accurate health care services for the management of menopausal symptoms.