The longitudinal effects of a perimenopausal health education intervention on the mid-life women in Taiwan.

Abstract Objectives The study purpose was to evaluate the longitudinal effects, after 3 months and 1-year, of a perimenopausal health education intervention for mid-life women in Taiwan. Methods This study was conducted at two hospitals and their neighborhood communities (each included three subgroups, traditional Chinese, gynecologic and neighborhood communities), using a parallel-design, control trial for mid-life women. There were three instruments: (1) the Perceived Uncertainty Scale, (2) the Perceived Perimenopausal Disturbances Scale and (3) the Practice of Health Behaviors Scale. The intervention effects from the study baseline to a 1-year follow-up were estimated using the mixed effect model (SAS-MIXED procedure) for repeated measures of health behaviors, perceived uncertainty and perceived perimenopausal disturbances. Results A total of 161 women were in the education group, while 174 women were in the control group. After a 1-year follow-up, health education intervention had significantly increased the practice of health behavior in both Chinese medicine subgroups ( β  = 15.39, P β  = 10.08, P β  = −9.52, P Conclusions The perimenopausal health education had positive effects in reducing perceived uncertainty and increasing practice of health behavior among women from Chinese medicine clinics after a 1-year follow-up. Women from the gynecologic clinics showed the intervention effects of increasing health behavior after a three month and 1-year follow-ups. However, the women from neighborhood communities did not show any significant intervention effects at follow-ups. It is important to urge the women from communities to promote health practices for their perimenopausal transition instead of just living with their changing health.