DETERMINANTS OF MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS AND ATTITUDE AMONG MIDDLE AGED WOMEN: THE CASE OF DANGILA TOWN, NORTH WEST ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Introduction: The major concern of this study was to examine middle-aged women’s menopausal symptoms experience and their attitude towards menopause in relation to some demographic factors. Method-Three hundred middle-aged women with the age range of 35 and 70 were selected for the study using simple random sampling. A semi structured questionnaire was used to gather data from subjects. Quantitative analyses were used to analyze the obtained data. Results- The mean age for natural menopause was 46.74 and its onset 44.06 year. Friends were the major source for menopausal related information, next health care providers and reading materials respectively. There are significant differences in meno pausal attitude because of educational background, suggesting that illiterate women displayed better positive attitude than educated ones. Similarly, th ere are significant differences in menopausal symptoms and attitude across menopausal status. Pre-menopausal women experienced the highest menopausal symptoms than the pre and postmenopausal ones and postmenopausal women displayed positive attitude than pre and peri -menopaused ones. Conclusion: It is concluded that menopausal status, education and awareness on menopause among middle aged women is an important determinant to develop positive attitude towards menopause.