CHALLENGES AND COPING STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY MENOPAUSAL WOMEN IN A LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF SOUTHWESTERN STATE, NIGERIA

Abodunrin Olugbemiga L.*, Elias Risqat O., Adebimpe Wasiu O., Sabageh Adedayo O., Ilori Oluwatosin R., Temitayo-Obor Abiola A.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Menopause is a major transitional period in women's life when menstruation stops and no longer fertile. It exists in various staging systems that can be differentiated in premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal. However, there are physical and psychological challenges faced at each stage. In Nigeria, women have high prevalence of menopausal symptoms between the 40-60 years. Some of these symptoms that are more common at menopause give rise to high concerns to provide coping strategies for them. The objective is to assess the challenges and coping strategies adopted by menopausal women in Olorunda Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria. Methodology: This is a descriptive cross sectional study, 40-65 years eligible participants were selected using multi-stage sampling method. Three hundred questionnaires were administered, out of which two hundred and seventy were retrieved and analyzed using SPSS with level of P value was set at < 0.05 given response rate of 90%. Results: The mean age of the participants was 56 years + 2.11 S.D. The women in the study population were mostly married (84%) and were majorly Yoruba tribe (99%). Almost all the participants viewed menopause as a natural phenomenon. All the respondents were aware of menopause and have experienced one or more out of the twenty one pre-stated symptomatic challenges among which are vaginal dryness(40.40%), decreased sexual libido(41.1%),decreased sexual response(43.7%), joint pain/stiffness(35.95%). Coping strategies engaged by the participants included herbs (59.6%), exercise (59.6), Religious prayers (54.4%) and self medication (24.1%). Conclusion: Most of the respondents found menopause to be challenging and were able to manage using various coping strategies like the use of self medication, religious prayers and exercise which were found effective. Effective health education and promotion can help menopausal women to cope better with challenges of menopause.

Keywords: Assessment, Challenges, Coping strategies, Menopause.