Effect of Education-Based Intervention Using Group Discussion on the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Postmenopausal Women about Osteoporosis Preventive Behaviors

Aims As bone metabolic diseases, osteoporosis is a major threat to health, particularly in postmenopausal women. The aim of this study was to determine effect of education-based intervention on knowledge, attitude and practice of postmenopausal women concerning osteoporosis preventive behaviors. Materials & Methods This research is randomized controlled trial. It was done on 50 postmenopausal women with aged 50-60 years from Nehbandan, South Khorasan Province, Iran, in 2016 that were selected through multistage sampling method. The samples were divided into 2 groups (Control and intervention groups) and researcher-made questionnaire was used. The data were analyzed using independent and paired t-test, repeated measures analysis of variance test and SPSS 19 software. Findings In the intervention group, the mean scores of knowledge, attitude were significantly increased immediately after the intervention (p<0.001). The mean scores of knowledge, attitude, and practice showed significant differences, three months after intervention (p<0.05). The increase in the scores of knowledge due to training was significantly different between the intervention and control groups. Also, there was a significant difference between the two groups three months after the training. The attitude was not significant in the control group. Comparing the two groups, the attitude score was significant (p<0.001). In the Intervention group, daily calcium intake of the subjects showed the significant difference. Conclusion Educational intervention based on group discussion is effective in increasing the knowledge, attitudes and practice of postmenopausal women in terms of osteoporosis preventive behaviors.