Hormone replacement therapy. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of women attending a gynaecology outpatient clinic in Trinidad.

A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of a sample of 218 outpatients attending the Port of Spain General Hospital Gynaecology Outpatient Clinic. The questionnaire investigated women's knowledge of menopause, risks and benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), their attitudes concerning HRT and menopause as well as practices of postmenopausal women with respect to HRT. Comparisons were made between women of differing menopausal status, educational background and ethnicity. The results showed that overall knowledge was lacking regardless of menopausal status, ethnicity or educational background. Less educated women were more inclined to believe that HRT was inappropriate principally because they regarded the menopause as a natural process (p = 0.023). Only 24% of postmenopausal women were practicing some form of HRT. A minority (7%) had previously been undergoing the therapy but had stopped. Most postmenopausal women (69%) simply never considered treatment because the majority had never heard about HRT. The main source of patient information was from the clinic they were attending. This study reveals low awareness of menopausal information and therapeutic options in a Trinidadian population. A targeted education programme may substantially fill this void.

Hormone replacement therapy. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of women attending a gynaecology outpatient clinic in Trinidad

A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of a sample of 218 outpatients attending the Port of Spain General Hospital Gynaecology Outpatient Clinic. The questionnaire investigated women's knowledge of menopause, risks and benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), their attitudes concerning HRT and menopause as well as practices of postmenopausal women with respect to HRT. Comparisons were made between women of differing menopausal status, educational background and ethnicity. The results showed that overall knowledge was lacking regardless of menopausal status, ethnicity or educational background. Less educated women were more inclined to believe that HRT was inappropriate principally because they regarded the menopause as a natural process (p = 0.023). Only 24 of postmenopausal women were practicing some form of HRT. A minority (7) had previously been undergoing the therapy but had stopped. Most postmenopausal women (69) simply never considered treatment because the majority had never heard about HRT. The main source of patient information was from the clinic they were attending. This study reveals low awareness of menopausal information and therapeutic options in a Trinidadian population. A targeted education programme may substantially fill this void.

Hormone replacement therapy - knowledge, attitudes and practices of women attending a gynaecology outpatient clinic in Trinidad

A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of a sample of 218 outpatients attending the Port of Spain General Hospital Gynaec Outpatient Clinic. The questionnaire investigated women's knowledge of menopause, risks and benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), their attitudes concerning HRT and menopause as well as practices of postmenopausal women with respect to HRT. Comparisons were made between women of differing menopausal status, educational background and ethnicity. The results showed that overall knowledge was lacking regardless of menopausal status, ethnicity or educational background. Less educated women were more inclined to believe that HRT was inappropriate prinicpally because they regarded the menopause as a natural process (p = 0.023). Only 24 percent of postmenopausal women were practicing some from of HRT. A minority (7 percent) had previously been undergoing the therapy but had stopped. Most postmenopausal women (69 percent) simply never considered treatment because the majority had never heard about HRT. The main source of patient information was from the clinic they were attending. This study reveals low awareness of menopausal information and therapeutic options in a Trinidadian population. A targeted education programme may substantially fill this void.(Au)

Hormone replacement therapy: a survey of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of women attending gynaecological out-patient clinics of the General Hospital, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad

A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of a consecutive sample of 218 out-patients, aged 30 to 65 years, attending the Gynaecological Out-patient Clinic of the General Hospital, Port-of-Spain over 15 clinic days. Two-thirds of the sample were premenopausal and the rest were postmenopausal. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect data on demographics and menopausal status, knowledge of menopause, risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), attitudes concerning HRT and menopause and practices of postmenopausal women with respect to HRT. Data were analyzed by the F-test or X test. Comparisons were made between women of differing menopausal status, educational background and ethnicity, The results showed that 92 percent of the sample had "some" or "little" knowledge and this was true regardless of menopausal status, ethnicity or educational background. The less educated women, compared with women of higher education, were inclined to believe that natural methods were more appropriated than HRT for menopausal management (p=0.023). Only 24 percent of the postmenopausal women were practising some form of HRT while 7 percent who had previously received HRT had stopped. Most of the postmenopausal women (69 percent) had never replaced their hormones simply because they had never considered the treatment. Most women (>90 percent) had never heard about HRT.(AU)