Knowledge of, attitudes toward, and activity to prevent osteoporosis among middle-aged and elderly women

The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitude, and activity regarding osteoporosis of middle-aged and elderly women in Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. A community population-based cross-sectional study was conducted with arandomly-selected sample of 447 females aged 40 and over (M = 53.35 yrs). A questionnaire was used to collect data and was delivered by way of a face-to-face interview. The findings indicated that the mean score on a “knowledge” scale was 15.37 (SD = 11.37; total scores ranging from 0 to 44). Among six dimensions of knowledge, the highest score was noted for “incidence of osteoporosis” and the lowest score was for “diagnosis and treatment”. For attitudes, the highest score was noted for “perceived efficacy of actions” whereas the lowest score was for “perceived susceptibility”. For preventive activity, women revealed extremely low percentages in “checking bone mass density” (2.7% and “reading materials relating to osteoporosis” (7.8%. Multiple and stepwise regression analyses on preventive activity indicated that six variables (knowledge, previous physical examination history, perceived severity of osteoporosis, perceived value of early detection and treatment, attainment of a senior high school degree or over, and health status) could be singled out as significant factors and accounted for 36.1% of the variance. These findings reveal that broader health educational programs and health services regarding osteoporosis are necessary for Taiwanese women.