Awareness and knowledge of osteoporosis in Vietnamese women
Nguyen V Nguyen1, Tri A Dinh2, Quang V Ngo3
1University of Texas, Galveston, TX, USA.
Purpose:
Vietnamese women are at particular risk of osteoporosis and its complications. This study examined osteoporosis knowledge and awareness among Vietnamese women who have accessed health care.
Methods:
A sample of 217 women, 13 to 76 years of age, who were attending 1 of 2 health care facilities in Da Nang, Vietnam, between November and December 2009 completed a questionnaire assessing their awareness of osteoporosis and measuring their knowledge using a 30-item instrument reflecting 9 knowledge domains (eg, risk factors, diagnosis, prognosis).
Results:
A majority (81.6%) of the women had heard of osteoporosis. Awareness was associated with education, working in health care, and having a family member with osteoporosis. On average, Vietnamese women answered 49% of the knowledge questions correctly; scores ranged from 0 to 26 questions correct out of 30 (mean = 14.71 ± 5.2, median = 15). Mean knowledge scores were higher among those reporting a family member with osteoporosis, nurses (vs other vocations), and women with a high school education or greater (relative to those who had not completed high school). More than 90% of the women expressed interest in a prevention and treatment program.
Conclusions:
Vietnamese women may have heard of osteoporosis, yet they would benefit from education targeting prevention and treatment of the disease.
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