WOMEN AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE REGARDING HEALTH CARE IN POST MENOPAUSE IN KSA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Objective: This research aims to determine the factors responsible for Women's Awareness and Knowledge Regarding Health Care in Post Menopause in KSA.

Methods: This study will employ a cross-sectional design to assess the awareness and knowledge regarding healthcare in post-menopausal women in Saudi Arabia. A structured questionnaire will be used to collect data from the target population.

Results: The study included 702 participants. The most frequent Nationality among them was Saudi (n= 668, 95.2%), followed by non-Saudi (n= 34, 4.8%). The most frequent Age among study participants was 51 years and above (n= 302, 43%), followed by 40-50 years old (n= 211, 30.1%). The most frequent Marital Status among study participants was married (n= 560, 79.8%), followed by single (n= 79, 11.3%) The participant was asked if they used the contraceptive. The resale was close were was Yes (n= 355, 50.6%) and No (n=347, 49.4%). If yes, the most common kind of contraceptive was hormonal (n=160, 22.8%), followed by IUD (n=146, 20.8%), then condom (n=28, 4%), and others kind (n=21, 3%). Participants were asked if they were aware of perimenopause. Their results were yes (n=558, 79.5%) and no (n=144, 20.5%). The source of awareness most frequently was social media (n=241, 34.3%), followed by family (n=148, 21.1%). As for active search of formation perimenopause, the most frequent was Have not searched (n=316, 45%), followed by as soon as (n=206, 29.3%), then before symptoms (n=132, 18.8%), and long after (n=48, 6.8%). Participants were asked about a doctor's visit for menopause. The most frequent answers were Yes (n= 434, 61.8%) and No (n= 268, 38.1%). Methods used to relieve symptoms the most frequently Symptoms were Mood swings (n=293, 10.9%), followed by Myalgia/Arthralgia (n=273, 10.1%), and Weight changes (n=201, 7.5%).

Participants were asked about Chronic diseases. The most frequent answers were don’t have any diseases (n=361, 39.8%), followed by Diabetes (n= 107, 11.8), then Hypertension (n=102, 11.2%), and Arthritis (n=83, 9.1%), Hypothyroidism (n=78, 8.6%), Hyperlipidemia (n= 66, 7.2%).

Conclusion: The study revealed that the level of awareness about perimenopause among women in Saudi Arabia is significantly associated with variables such as marital status, education level, parity, and age. The results showed that older women and those with higher education levels exhibit a greater awareness than other groups. Additionally, social media was identified as the most common source of information, highlighting the need to improve the quality of health content shared on these platforms.