Understanding Menopause: Knowledge and Influencing Factors Among Postmenopausal Women in Bench Sheko Zone, Southwest...

Menopause is the cessation of menstruation and reproductive capacity due to decreased ovarian function and hormone production. Menopausal symptoms affect about 70% of women during their menopausal period. Despite the increasing proportion of the population experiencing menopause, only a limited number of studies have been conducted to understand menopause among women, particularly in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aims to assess knowledge and influencing factors among postmenopausal women in the Bench Sheko Zone, Southwest Ethiopia.

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 404 post-menopausal women in the Bench-Sheko Zone from August to September 2023. Simple random sampling was used to obtain the required sample size. The data was collected by using structured, pre-tested, and interviewer-administered questionnaires. Epi data version 3.1 was used to enter data and then exported to Statistical Package for Social Science version 25 for analysis. The binary Logistic regression model was used to select candidate variables, and only variables with a p-value < 0.25 in bivariate logistic regression analysis were checked for association in a multivariable logistic regression model, and variables with a p-value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

The overall level of knowledge about menopause among post-menopausal women was 24.8%. Factors associated with knowledge status included the educational status of college and above (AOR = 4.23; 95% CI = 1.74, 10.24), educational level of secondary school (AOR = 3.87; 95% CI = 1.58, 9.48), educational level of primary school (AOR = 3.29; 95% CI = 1.33, 8.13), being a government employee (AOR = 5.56; 95% CI = 2.31, 13.4), and history of contraceptive use (AOR = 2.83; 95% CI = 1.15, 6.94).

Post-menopausal women had low knowledge about menopause. Educational status, occupation, and use of contraception were significantly associated with knowledge about menopause. Further menopause education is recommended to empower women to increase health-seeking behavior and access to information and healthcare services.