THE LEVEL OF AWARENESS OF FEU-NRMF MALE EMPLOYEES ON MENOPAUSE

ABSTRACT: A descriptive study was conducted among 78 male employees of FEU-NRMF Medical Center to determine their existing level of awareness on menopause. A pre-test was conducted on 10 male employees of the maintenance department of FJN Dormitory. These were not included in the actual survey. The 78 male subjects were asked to identify the age of onset and the duration of menopause. At the same time a list of signs and symptoms was presented for the subjects to identify whether these are direct consequences of the physiologic changes attributed to menopause. Single item analysis was done. Only 28% of the subjects were able to correctly identify the age of onset while a lesser proportion, 10.25%, were aware of the duration. The top 5 signs and symptoms correctly identified are irritability (74.36%). less desire for sex (55.13%). vaginal dryness (52.56%). anxiety (52.56%) and change in behavior during sex (52.56%). In all the aspects of menopause considered in this study, the subjects showed a low level of awareness. It is recommended that this status of awareness be improved further through information dissemination using pamphlets and posters. Conduction of seminars may also be done for a better outcome.

Department of Community & Family Medicine