Knowledge, Attitude and Preventive Practice of Women Concerning Osteoporosis

Abstract

Background: To determine the knowledge, attitude and preventive practice of women above 45 years old. Methods: A total of 770 households in Kerman (southern Iran) were selected for inclusion in the study using cluster sam¬pling from April through August 2005. The interview schedule consisted of 4 parts including questions about knowledge, atti¬tude and practice (KAP) and also demographic questions. The average score for KAP was 9.3 out of 21, 2.6 out of 5 and 1.5 out of 6, respectively. Results: Adequate osteoprotective exercise and sufficient calcium intake were found in 3.8% and 5.5% of subjects, respec¬tively. A significant relationship between the score of preventive practice and all the following parameters was found: level of education, hearing about osteoporosis, knowledge score, perceived barrier to preventive actions and perceived serious¬ness of osteoporosis. Conclusion: Considering the Iranian women’s inaccurate or insufficient knowledge and their negative attitude to the preven¬tive actions and their weak practice in case of prevention, it is the responsibility of health policymakers and medi¬cal associations to plan for osteoporosis education and prevention initiatives.