Knowledge and Beliefs on Osteoporosis among African Postmenopausal Women in a Kenyan Semi-Rural County of Kiambu

Abstract

Background: Assessing people’s knowledge and beliefs about osteoporosis is funda-mental to the formulation of preventive strategies for this condition. To our knowledge, no randomized community survey has been conducted using Facts on Osteoporosis Quiz (FOOQ) and Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS) exclusively in the postmeno-pausal women in Kenya. This study aimed to assess postmenopausal women's knowl-edge and beliefs concerning osteoporosis in semirural Kiambu County, Kenya. Methods:A cross-sectional study involving face-to-face interviews with 254 African postmeno-pausal women was conducted between October 2017 and February 2018. The ques-tionnaire explored the socio-demographic characteristics; FOOQ was used to evaluate the knowledge these women had about osteoporosis, while OHBS was used to assess their beliefs. Results: The mean age of the participants was 64.6±10.7 years. About 26.4% (67/254) of the participants had no formal education, while 3.1% (8/254) were in formal employment. About 54.3% (138/254) of the women were married, and 51.2% (130/254) were in the lowest and lower wealth quintile. FOOQ had a mean score of 8.6 (standard deviation±1.8; range, 0-17). OHBS revealed a low level of perceived suscepti-bility to osteoporosis. Perceived benefits of exercising and calcium intake as well as per-ceived seriousness of osteoporosis as a disease were at moderate levels. The level of health motivation was also moderate. Conclusions: The women in this study demon-strated limited knowledge about osteoporosis. The low susceptibility score makes the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in this population challenging. We recom-mend public health education for all postmenopausal women in this setting.