+44 330 818 7254Reda Mohamed-Nabil Aboushady, Awatef Abd-Elrazek Mohamed, Tawheda Mohamed Khalefa El-saidy
Osteoporosis is a silent disease that causes bones to become thin and weak and increases the risk for broken bones. Osteoporosis prevention have several aspects including health education, nutrition, exercise, lifestyle modification and early screening. Aim of the current study has two folds; 1)-to assess the level of knowledge and perception among women toward the risk factors for osteoporosis and 2)- to evaluate the influence of organized educational sessions on women knowledge and perception for osteoporosis. A quasi-experimental design (One group pretest – post-test only) was utilized for this study. A total of 230 women were recruited from four settings in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Three tools were used to collect the data; 1)-Structured interviewing questionnaire 2)- knowledge assessment questionnaire and 3)-Perception assessment questionnaire. Three health education sessions per week two days interval were done. Results: the mean age of the sample was 32.96 ± 12.2 years old. More than ninety two percent of them were working. Before the educational session, more than eighty percent of the participants had poor level of knowledge compared to only 20.4% during post test with statistical difference between pre and post test (t= 18.7, P<0.001). In addition, 26.5% of the women perceived osteoporosis as dangerous disease such as cancer. While more than forty percent of them perceived the benefits of physical activity and its importance in developing a strong bone. Conclusion: More than half of the sample had neutral perception about the risk factors and dangers for the disease. The organized educational sessions had a positive effect and improved their level of knowledge and perception toward the risk factors for osteoporosis. Recommendations: Educational sessions facilities and methods about osteoporosis as; lectures, handout, and videos should be developed and become accessible to all women’s clinics. Also, Mass media can play an active role to raise the women’s awareness about risk factors of osteoporosis.
Share this article