Knowledge on care and management of menopause in middle aged women

Knowledge on care and management of menopause in middle aged 160 rural women was studied during 2015-16. The women who attained menopause and belonging to 40-55 years age range were selected from 8 villages of 4 talukas of Dharwad and Bagalkot Districts. The knowledge regarding menopause was assessed by using Self structured interview schedule which included five categories like general information, history of menopause, effects of menopause, care and management of menopause. The postmenopausal symptoms were measured by using Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) developed by Barlin (1992) with 11 items. The responses on each item was scored as 0-4 as none to very severe. MRS was categorized as low (0-14), medium (15-29) and high (30-44) further it was divided into somatic, psychological and urinary symptoms. The Socio-Economic Status (SES) of family was assessed by using Socio Economic Status scale developed by Agarwal. (2005). Correlation was used to assess the relationship between knowledge on menopause and postmenopausal problems.