Abstract :
Background: 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.
Objective: To estimate the health care needs of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.
Materials and Methods: 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.
Results: 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%).
Conclusion: 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.
Keyword :
Perimenopause, Postmenopause, Health care needs, Health care.