Quality of life among perimenopausalSaudi working women and its impact on theirmenopausal symptoms

Menopause is emerged as a prominent issue in the women's health. It is a natural progression of women's life. Perception of menopausal symptoms is influenced by the broader social and cultural contexts in which such normative biological events are embedded. Some women viewed this period as an indicator of natural and inevitable life changes, while others view it as a problem that affects their quality of life. WHO defined quality of life as the individuals' perception of their status in life according to the cultural and value systems they live in, considering their aims, expectations, standards and worries. On the other hand, quality of life [QOL] is an important outcome that reflects the way women feel and function during menopausal period. So, this study aimed to identify the effect of quality of life among perimenopausal Saudi manager women on their menopausal symptoms. It was a descriptive study, where a convenient sample of 120 perimenopausal manager women, who are not using hormonal replacement therapy and willing to participate in the study, were selected from King Abdel Aziz University and King Abdel Aziz University Hospital in Jeddah. Two validated tools were used to collect data; menopausal symptoms inventory scale and Utain quality of life scale. The results clarified that the majority of perimenopausal women obtained moderate total score of QOL and a sizeable proportion got high total score of menopausal symptoms. The relationship between women's total score of QOL and their general characteristics was found to be statistically significant regarding level of education, years of work experience, marital status, and history of medical diseases. Statistically significant differences were also found between women's total score of menopausal symptoms and their general characteristics in relation to level of education, years of work experience, marital status, and age at marriage, duration of marriage, menstrual history, as well as history of medical diseases. Low and moderate total scores of symptoms were significantly higher among women with high total score of QOL, while high total score of symptoms was significantly higher among women with low and moderate total scores of QOL. quality of life had significant, negative effect on women's menopausal symptoms

Knowledge, practices and beliefs of women regarding hormonal replacement therapy [HRT] during perimenopausal period

Hormonal Replacement Therapy [HRT] has an established role in improving menopausal symptoms reducing cardiovascular risk and preventing osteoporosis. Therefore, an exploratory descriptive study was carried out to identify women's knowledge, practices and beliefs regarding HRT during perimenopausal period. A questionnaire sheet was designed, validated and utilized by the researchers to collect the necessary data from a convenient sample of 100 perimenopausal employee women. A scoring system was adopted for women's knowledge, practices and beliefs regarding HRT. The results revealed that a sizeable proportion of perimenopausal women had lack of knowledge about HRT Sources of perimenopausal women's knowledge about HRT were mainly from mass media [63.8%]. In relation to practices of HRT, the results clarified that only 13% of perimenopausal women used HRT. Although most of HRT users [92.3%] used it to relieve their perimenopausal symptoms, yet, 76.9% of them reported that it didn't affect their perimenopausal symptoms. Perimenopausal women's practices of HRT were affected by their age, marital status and education, while their beliefs were affected by education and menstruation. A negative correlation was found between knowledge and practices [r =- 0.152], while a moderate positive correlation was found between knowledge and beliefs [r. = 0.416]. On the other hand, no correlation was found between practices and beliefs [r= 0.000]. Therefore, there is a need to incorporate the health care of perimenopausal women within the reproductive health care system

Impact of acupressure on dysmenorrheas among adolescent

Primary dysmenorrhea is a common gynecological complaint especially for a adolescent girls. It may be sever enough to interfere with normal activities causing missed school days and affecting the academic performance. Treatment of dysmenorrhe includes pharmacological as well as non pharmacological approaches. One of the non pharmacological approaches is acupressure. Acupressure is an ancient Chinese healing practice that applies finger pressure to certain meridian points on the body to relieve pain. These meridians start at finger tips, connect to the brain, and then connect to the specific organ. Acupressure may reduce muscle pain and tension, improve blood circulation and enable muscle fibers to relax. So this study aimed to identify the effect of acupressure on primary dysmenorrhea. The study was implemented at King Abd EL- Aziz university [Faculty of Nursing] in Jeddah. From the above mentioned setting 50 student having a primary dysmenorrhea were selected. Three tools were used. Tool [I]was a specific instructional questionnaire sheet to assess the students' knowledge and practices regarding their menstrual pain. Tool [II]was a Visual Analogue pain intensity scale to assess menstrual pain intensity Tool[Ill]was instructional guideline about acupressure which was developed and given to the selected students, the students were followed for two periods. Evaluation of the effectiveness of acupressure was measured for each student by re-assessing their pain intensity one day before menstruation and 3 consecutive days after. The result of the present study revealed that acupressure was one of the effective non pharmacological methods to relive menstrual pain, use of pain killer as well as the symptoms associated with dysmenorrhea

Sources of women's fear and anxiety during parturition

This is an exploratory descriptive study that aimed to identify the sources of women's fear and anxiety during parturition. A specially designed interview schedule was used to collect data from 300 primiparas. This tool was administered during the second day of postpartum period. The results revealed that the common sources of fear and anxiety among primiparae during parturition were labor pains [74.7%], maternal death [62.3%], invasive procedures like pelvic examination [59%], newborn death [51.3%], maternal exposure [43%], labor and delivery room temperature [38.7%], type of delivery [38%], unwanted baby sex [35.3%] and congenital anomalies [34%]. Loss of control [32.7%], disturbances by other parturients as screams [32%], noisy environment [31%], catheterisation [30.7%], inadequate instructions from attendants [30.7%], duration of childbirth [30.3%], unidentifiable sources [28%], early rupture of membranes [25.7% and loneliness in the sense of lack of emotional support were also common sources of fear and anxiety among primiparae during parturition. This indicates that fear and anxiety over childbirth is related fundamental human feelings, which should be considered by the maternity nurse to help laboring women to feel in control