Pre - climacteric age women's knowledge and attitude on hormone replacement therapy in Shahrood, 2000

Background and Menopause is the beginning of a new life for women. Sudden hormonal changes after menopause can lead to some problems. The hormone replacement therapy in this group of women may reduce adverse effects. This research was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of women in Shahrood about hormone replacement therapy in 2000. In this descriptive research 400 women aged between 40-65 years old, who attended at 6 health clinics of Shahrood selected by a random sampling method. The sample includes 4% of all women who had a health file in clinics and had sample criteria. Data was gathered by interviewing and completing a constructed questionnaire. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS package. Statistical test used included Chi-square, and Student-t tests, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation test. The results showed that 74% of women had low level and 25.2% had moderate level of knowledge and 8% of the subjects had good knowledge about hormone replacement therapy. Mean of knowledge scores was 22.6±16.3. About 70% of subjects had no opinion about the hormone replacement therapy. Thirty percent of women were agree and none of women were disagree with using HRT. Mean of attitude scores was 63.6±8.7.There was a significant correlation between the women’s knowledge and attitude (p=. 000). Considering the low level of knowledge and positive attitude toward HRT increasing women knowledge on HRT is suggested in order to decrease the adverse effects of menopause.