A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Program on Knowledge of Menopausal Women regarding Prevention and Management of Osteoporosis, Attending Gynaecological OPD of Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, New Delhi

Abstract

Women have three phases: the first phase is childhood, pre-menarche before a girl has her first period, the second stage, the childbearing years, begins with the onset of menstruation, and the third stage, which begins at menopause, is called the “Crone” or “Wise Women” stage. Osteoporosis afflicts more women
than men, particularly postmenopausal women, since their ovaries are no longer producing estrogen, which helps to maintain bone mass. Women lose bone density faster in menopause when estrogen level decreases. Osteoporosis is a bone disorder, in which bone mass in the body decreases, thus causing bones
to become weakened to the extent that minimal trauma may cause fractures. It is believed that calcium and estrogen are the major factors in the building and maintaining of bone strength in women. The foundation of osteoporosis management consists of effective prevention techniques and maximizing bone density, minimizing bone loss (especially during menopause) and reducing the risk of falls. This mandates early intervention to ensure that calcium and vitamin D intake and exercise levels are adequate during childhood and adolescence and are maintained at satisfactory levels throughout life. It is of paramount importance to identify cases of postmenopausal women having osteoporosis, and enable early identification of severe problems and provide prompt management. An experimental study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of structured teaching program on knowledge of menopausal women regarding prevention and management of osteoporosis, attending Gynaecological OPD of Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, New Delhi. A structured Interview schedule was administered to 30 postmenopausal women between the age group of 45 and 56 years using purposive sampling technique. Pre-test and post-test was conducted and data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of the study revealed that there was a mean difference of 19.26 between the pre-test knowledge score and post-test knowledge score of post menopausal women regarding osteoporosis. Highly significant difference (t=14.815, p<0.05) was found between pre-test and-test knowledge scores, hence, the structured teaching program was found to be effective in increasing the knowledge of post-menopausal women regarding osteoporosis.