Experience of Middle Age Women regarding Menopause in Alexandria

Menopause is a beginning of another phase of women's life. Women's experience of this
critical phase probably influenced by their attitude, knowledge and follow-up practices.
Objective: Assess the menopausal symptoms among middle age women and identify their
knowledge, attitude and practices toward menopause in Alexandria. Settings: The study was
carried out in 8 family health centers in Alexandria. Subjects: 240 middle age women (45 to
less than 60 years old) were included in the study. Tools: Four tools were used for data
collection: socio demographic characteristics and health status structured interview schedule,
the menopause rating scale for the women to assess the menopausal symptoms among middle
age women. The third tool was, the modified attitude rating scale, and women's knowledge
toward menopause structured interview schedule. Results: Findings of the present study
revealed that around one tenth of the women were bothered by severe and very severe
menopausal symptoms. Less than half had poor knowledge toward menopause, while 56.7%
were non-compliant with follow up practices during menopausal transition. Additionally,
slightly less than half of the women had a negative attitude toward menopause. Conclusion:
The study concluded that the women had poor knowledge toward menopause which reflect on
their attitude and follow up practices. Recommendations: Health care providers need to play
a more visible role in continuously assessing menopausal women's needs as well as to
implement appropriate health education program to raise their awareness and to improve
their knowledge, attitude, and follow up practices toward menopause.