A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY TO DETERMINE STRESS LEVEL AMONG POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN IN RURAL AREA OF BHAGALPUR (BIHAR)

ABSTRACT

Background: Menopause is a natural reproductive period that affects women's lives between the ages of 45 and 55 due to various physical and mental changes. It usually happens when a lady is in her late 40s to early 50s (Barkha D et al., 2018). Many women see the menopausal transition as distressing (The North American Menopause Society, 2016). Menopausal women in rural locations may experience higher physical, psychological, and social stress. They also have more medical issues and worse self-esteem than males. The objective of present is to measure the stress experienced by pos Objective: tmenopausal women living in rural areas of the Bhagalpur district of Bihar. A cross-sectional survey method is used to measure stre Method: ss level of postmenopausal women. total 100 postmenopausal women were selected using simple random sampling within the age range of 45-55 years. The level of stress was measured by using a structured self-administered schedule. The result of this study revealed that most pos Result: tmenopausal women (70%) reported severe stress levels, 28% had moderate stress levels, whereas only 2% reported low-stress levels. Alt Conclusion: hough this is a short study but it offers a beginning for the future mapping of stress levels on menopause timing. Researchers looking into the stress experienced by postmenopausal women can also use this knowledge.