Women's Health Beliefs Regarding Osteoporosis in Alexandria

Osteoporosis represents the major public health concern which affects millions of
people worldwide. Many genetics and life style factors influence the occurrence of the
disease. Heath belief model (HBM) is a well-known instrument to investigate the health
beliefs related to osteoporosis. Objective: To assess the health beliefs of women regarding
osteoporosis in Alexandria. Settings: The study was carried out in four family health centers
in Alexandria. Subjects: The subjects of the study were 260 women aged above forty years
who attended the different family health centers clinics for follow up. Tools: Two tools were
used for data collection. The first one was a socio-demographic characteristic of the studied
women and health status structured interview schedule for the women which assessed their
medical, surgical, menstrual history and women history of fracture. The second tool was the
Osteoporosis Health Belief Model Scale (OHBS), it was used to measure heath beliefs related
to osteoporosis. Results: More than three quarters of the studied women had previous health
problems. Hypertension, arthritis, and high cholesterol level were reported by more than two
fifths of the women and about one third of them had previous family history of osteoporosis.
Moreover, around one third of the studied women had low perceived susceptibility to
osteoporosis and more than half had low perceived seriousness to the disease. Conclusion:
The findings from this study indicate that osteoporosis related health beliefs and behaviors
among the studied women were inadequate. Recommendations: Raise public awareness with
respect to osteoporosis including the extent of the problem and means for overcoming it. This
could be done through intensification of media, awareness campaigns and community
mobilization.