Health Seeking Behavior of Menopausal Women of Tokha Municipality

Abstract

Introduction: Menopause is an important phase of the life of women. During this period of cessation of estrogen, many women experience various unpleasant symptoms, the severity of which may vary. It is important to understand health-seeking behavior of women towards these symptoms. The aim of this study was to assess the health-seeking behavior among menopausal women.

Methods: Community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was done among 296 women aged 40-60 years residing in wards no 2 and 3 of Tokha Municipality of Kathmandu. A convenient sampling technique was adopted to collect the data. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statics.

Results: It was found that most of the participants (62%) visited the pharmacy for their problems and about 40% received counseling for their problems. Regarding the severity of the menopausal symptoms, only 20% of the respondents had experienced severe somatic symptoms and 16% experienced psychological symptoms. There was an association of some socio-demographic variables (age, religion, ethnicity, educational status, marital status, and income) with health-seeking behavior of the respondents. Similarly, health-seeking behavior was found to be associated with some of the health problems (irritation, heart discomfort, joint problems, tiredness, and cardiac problems).

Conclusions: The menopausal problem had been neglected by significant respondents even though various menopausal symptoms were prominent among them. There is a need to raise awareness among the community people on menopausal problems and seek appropriate health care services.