Knowledge and Beliefs on Osteoporosis among African Postmenopausal Women in a Kenyan Semi-Rural County of Kiambu

Abstract

Background: Assessing people's knowledge and beliefs about osteoporosis is fundamental to the formulation of preventive strategies for this condition. To our knowledge, no randomized community survey has been conducted using Facts on Osteoporosis Quiz (FOOQ) and Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS) exclusively in the postmenopausal women in Kenya. This study aimed to assess postmenopausal women's knowledge and beliefs concerning osteoporosis in semirural Kiambu County, Kenya. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving face-to-face interviews with 254 African postmenopausal women was conducted between October 2017 and February 2018. The questionnaire explored the socio-demographic characteristics; FOOQ was used to evaluate the knowledge these women had about osteoporosis, while OHBS was used to assess their beliefs. Results: The mean age of the participants was 64.6±10.7 years. About 26.4% (67/254) of the participants had no formal education, while 3.1% (8/254) were in formal employment. About 54.3% (138/254) of the women were married, and 51.2% (130/254) were in the lowest and lower wealth quintile. FOOQ had a mean score of 8.6 (standard deviation±1.8; range, 0-17). OHBS revealed a low level of perceived susceptibility to osteoporosis. Perceived benefits of exercising and calcium intake as well as perceived seriousness of osteoporosis as a disease were at moderate levels. The level of health motivation was also moderate. Conclusions: The women in this study demonstrated limited knowledge about osteoporosis. The low susceptibility score makes the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in this population challenging. We recommend public health education for all postmenopausal women in this setting.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, and Awareness Levels Among Indian Postmenopausal Women About Osteoporosis and Its Relationship With Sociodemographic Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study From Northern India

“…In our study, 73.13% of the postmenopausal women had no knowledge about osteoporosis. A review of the literature revealed that similar results were obtained; however, the percentage of knowledge is somewhat varied between 34% and 51% [10][11][12][13][14][15]. Apart from these studies with insufficient knowledge about osteoporosis, the literature was replaced by other studies with high or moderate knowledge about osteoporosis.…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior Levels of Postmenopausal Women about Osteoporosis

“…When the literature was examined, it was seen that similar results were found. [12][13][14][15][16] In addition to these studies in which osteoporosis knowledge was found to be insufficient, other studies with high or moderate osteoporosis knowledge took their place in the literature. [17,18] The results of these studies differ from our study.…”

Assessing the Knowledge and Attitude towards Osteoporosis among Syrian Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Many studies have addressed the knowledge differences between urban and rural areas [ 16 , 21 , 27 ]. The majority of our participants were living in rural areas (77.2%; n = 4698) while only 22.8% ( n = 1384) were living in urban areas.…”

“…A systematic review and meta-analysis form China [ 16 ] reported a higher, but not significant, prevalence of osteoporosis among rural residents (23.92% vs. 20.87% in urban residents). Sitati et al [ 27 ] used the Facts on Osteoporosis Quiz (FOOQ) scale to measure knowledge in Kenyan semirural county of Kiambu. 254 African postmenopausal women aged ≥50 were included.…”

“…The Turkish study also reported an average score of 5.52 out of 20 among rural areas [ 21 ]. It was suggested that the declining levels of socioeconomic status were a major factor for decreased awareness levels of osteoporosis [ 27 ].…”