Traditional Practices To Control Menopausal Symptoms Among Women In El Amreya Region, Alexandria

Abstract

Background: Menopause is a typical stage of life transition for women, and it has been discovered that culture has a big impact on how women manage this stage of life transition, particularly the physiological and psychosocial symptoms of menopause. Due to strong roots in their cultural and traditional customs, women tend to take a passive attitude toward controlling symptoms throughout the menopausal transition. Objective: Identify traditional practices to control menopausal symptoms among women in the El Amreya region, Alexandria. Setting: the study was carried out at the EL Amreya General Hospital's gynaecological outpatient clinic in EL Amreya, Alexandria Governorate. Subjects: A convenient sample of 200 women was selected from the previously mentioned setting. Tools: three tools were used for data collection. The first tool was sociodemographic and clinical data from a structured interview schedule. The second tool was the Greene Climacteric Scale, used for subjective assessment of menopausal symptoms. The third tool was traditional practices used to overcome menopausal symptoms structured interview schedule. Results: The study results revealed that traditional practices used to control menopausal symptoms were religious rituals for feeling tense or nervous and excitability, and herbs were also used for difficulty sleeping, breathing difficulties, and hot flashes. In addition, herbs and cupping are used to control muscle and joint pains. Family and relatives were the main sources of information about menopausal women's traditional practices, as well as sources of getting the practice, which were primarily the holy Quran for religious rituals, spice dealers for herbs, and medical stores for cupping. Conclusion: Most traditional practices used to control menopausal symptoms were religious rituals, herbs, and cupping. Recommendations: Evidence-based information and research about traditional practices should be encouraged among obstetric and gynecologic nurses to evaluate their effectiveness and risks.