Effects of training the menopausal health to the husbands on perceived social support among women during transitional period to menopause

Introduction: Menopause is a phenomenon which all women will experience it. Social support has a protective role for mental health and enable the person to cope with problems and has significant impact in reducing stress and depression. Since husband is the most important person who can provide this social support, this study was performed with the aim to evaluate the effect of training about program menopausal health to husband of women aged 40-50 years on perceived social support among women. Methods: This semi-experimental study was performed on 100 women aged 45-55 years and their husbands in Yazd at 2014. Participants were randomly allocated in two groups of intervention (50 couples) and control (50 couples). Data collection tools were the demographic questionnaire for women and men, the questionnaire assessing men's knowledge and performance about menopause, and Perceived Social Support – Family Scale (PSSFa) Procidano and Heller questionnaire which were completed before and two months after the intervention in both groups. In intervention group, an educational program was performed in three sessions of 60 minutes by lecture method, but the control group was received no education. Data was analyzed by SPSS software (version 20), and paired t, Independent t, one-way ANOVA, Chi-square, Fisher exact, and Pearson correlation tests. PResult: In intervention group, the knowledge and performance of men and the mean score of women’s perceived social support about menopausal health was increased two months after educational program and this increase was statistically significant (P<0.0001), but in control group, no significant difference was observed in these regard (P=0.129, P=0.394, P=0.841). Conclusion: Training of menopausal health to the husbands can increase perceived social support in women during transitional period to menopause. It is recommended to design and implement the written educational program for husbands about menopause and support of menopausal women during transitional period to menopause.