A Study on the Self-care of the Menopausal Symptoms of Middle-Aged Women

중년 여성의 갱년기 증상과 자기건강관리 (Self-Care)와의 관련성 조사연구

The purpose of this study is to find out the menopausal symptom of middle-aged women and their self-care on it. This study also intended to awaken the relationship of the menopausal symptom and self-care and to provide basic data on the health education of middle-aged women. For this purpose, the study (1) identified respondents background variables, (2) found menopausal symptom and the state of self-care, (3) analyzed relationship between general character, menopausal symptom, and self-care, (4) analyzed the relationship of menopausal symptom and self-care for 543 random sampled women in City of Incheon. The questionnaire consisted of 25 questions on the menopausal symptom interview by Neugarton translated by Jung Hae Ran(1985) and questions of the self-care inventory by Orem reconstructed by Sung Moon Hee(1988). The data were analyzed by using frequency, percentage, t-test, X²-test, pearson's correlation coefficient with SPSS statistical package. The results of this study could be summed up as follows ; 1. The Degree of menopausal symptom were graded from 25 to 75. (x 40.85, s. d. 8. 6.) 2. The test of relationship between the individual background and the menopausal symptom revealed that there seemed to be statistically significant correlation between the sexual life, life-content, the level of education, menstruation(p<0.000). 3. In the test of relationship between the individual background and the self-care process, (1) in case of insight of symptom, there seemed to be statistically significant correlation between the self-content(r=0.1463), sexual life(r= -0.1376), menstruation(r=0.1561), and artificial abortion(r=0.1577), (p<0.001), (2) In case of self-health control, there seemed to be statistical correlation between the states of menstruation and the number of induced abortion. (3) In case of self-health decision, there seemed to be statistically significant correlation between the number of visiting hospitals or clinics and the level of education(r=0.106), the self-content(r=0.1235), induced abortion(r=0.1343) (p<0.0000). And also individual background can show the 40.21 percent of self-health maintenance. 4. The relationship between menopausal symptom and self-care has a significant meaning to the insight of symptom, self-health decision according to the groups of menopausal symptom(p<0.000), but it doesn't have any meaning to self-health control. And self-health maintenance can manifest the 19.88 percent of menopausal symptom.