Predictors of participation in health care at menopause

Patient participation in health care is widely advocated but little is known about the factors influencing patients' active participation. To learn whether attitudes and beliefs helped predict patient participation, 252 midlife women completed measures of self-efficacy, perceived barriers to participation, attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions following a decision to support intervention on menopause. Two months following the intervention, 63 women who had visited a health care provider returned questionnaires by mail regarding self-reported participation in the health care encounter and satisfaction with the decision about estrogen replacement therapy. The results were that self-efficacy (beta = .19; p < .05) significantly predicted intention to participate in the next health care encounter. Both patient intentions (beta = .40;p < .05) and perceived barriers (beta = -.27; p < .05) were significant predictors of self-reported participation. Active participation (beta = .42;p < .05) and attitude (beta =.25;p < .05) were associated with increased satisfaction with decision. Participation resulted in increased self-efficacy (beta = .30;p < .05). The conclusions were that midlife women who express more confidence in their ability to participate in their health care have greater intentions to participate. Women who experience fewer barriers to participation and have more intention to participate are more likely to report actively participating in a health care encounter, and self-reported participation and more positive attitudes toward participation are associated with greater satisfaction with decisions.