Awareness of Menopausal Symptoms Among Women Attending Medical Out-Patient Clinic in A Selected General Hospital, Lagos State (Published)
Menopause is a significant transitional phase in a woman’s life, marked by the cessation of menstrual cycles and accompanied by a range of physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms. This study aimed at assessing awareness and coping strategies on menopausal symptoms among women attending medical outpatient clinic in selected general hospital Lagos State. This study objective focused on level of awareness, common menopausal symptoms, coping strategies and factors influencing choice of coping strategies among menopausal women. Quantitative descriptive study design was adopted as primary data were gotten through the administration of questionnaire to selected 220 menopausal women using simple random sampling technique. The data collected were collated into Microsoft Excel and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 27. Descriptive analysis is done mainly using frequency tables and percentage. Inferential statistics using Chi-Square analysis was conducted to determine the hypothesis. This study revealed that awareness of menopause and its symptoms is relatively high among respondents as majority 58.2% strongly agreed that menopause is a natural phase of a woman’s life and not a disease while 41.8% agreed. Common menopausal symptoms included hot flashes, night sweats, irregular periods, mood changes, and fatigue. Additionally, weight gain, joint/muscle pain, and sleep disturbances were prevalent, though vaginal dryness was less commonly reported. Many engaged in relaxation techniques, maintained a balanced diet, and participated in social activities. Also, there is a significant relationship (p<0.05) between educational status of women and level of awareness on menopausal symptoms. These findings highlight the role of education, professional guidance, and cultural factors in shaping menopause management approaches and increased awareness on hormone replacement therapy as alternative treatment options.
Keywords: awareness, menopausal symptoms, menopausal women, outpatient clinic
Knowledge and Help Seeking Behaviors for Menopausal Symptoms among Female Staff Working in a Selected University in Ogun State (Published)
Citation: Eunice Abimbola Ojo, Oluwatosin. O. Ope-Babadele, Mary Ayodeji Gbenga-Epebinu, Rachel Omolara Aina and Jolayemi Oluwaseyi Damilola (2022) Knowledge and Help Seeking Behaviors for Menopausal Symptoms among Female Staff Working in a Selected University in Ogun State, International Journal of Public Health, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Vol. 7, No.1, pp.14-28,
The menopausal years is a very important phase in a woman’s life and it is of good benefit to the women who engage in help seeking behaviors so as to be able to cope well with the phase. The purpose of this study was to see the knowledge and help seeking behaviors among female staffs working in the hall of residence at a selected university in Ogun state. This cross – sectional study was conducted in Babcock University on 102 female staffs who worked in the halls of residence. Total enumeration was used and purposive sampling method was used to select participants. A self-designed questionnaire was used for data collection. The research instrument was validated by experts of Nursing Science and Tests & Measurement. Reliability of the instrument was ascertained through test re-test and it was found to be reliable. Descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions while inferential statistics of chi-square and correlation were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The finding revealed 35% of the women had low knowledge while 65% of them had very high knowledge of menopause. Also, it was discovered that 82% of the respondents have low help seeking behavior while only 18% had high help seeking behavior. This could be as a result of the response of the respondents where 71% of the respondents reported that they do not believe in seeking help as Menopause is a natural aging process. Many of the respondents, about 74% had low effect of menopause on daily activities while only 26% had high effects on daily activity. Mostly the women whose menopause symptoms do affect their daily activities do so with their families and homes. The study also showed that there is no significant association between knowledge and help seeking behavior (r = -0.093, p>0.05) and there is no significant association between knowledge and the effects of menopause on daily activities (Chi (2.196), p>0.05). (r =0.148, p>0.05). It was recommended among others that health organizations and health workers need to improve their awareness efforts to include mainstream media and social media to help women have a better understanding of menopause symptoms.
Keywords: Knowledge, female staff, help-seeking behaviors, menopausal symptoms