A Study of Correlation among the Knowledge of the Disease, Health Promoting Behaviors and the Quality of Life in the Female Patients with Osteoporosis

여성 골다공증환자의 골다공증에 대한 지식, 건강증진행위 및 삶의 질과의 관계 연구

Osteoporosis is the disease that is the most controversial issue with the aging tendency in 1990. It is an important issue in dealing with the health management for women in middle life. This study is designed to determine the relationships among the level of the knowledge of osteoporosis, the health promoting behaviors and the quality of life. The test has conducted a questionnaire survey of women with osteoporosis. This is a study that focused an interrelation of above issues and its purpose is to gain a foundation of a nursing intervention that can help to improve the qualify of life of an osteoporosis patients. The method of collecting data is collecting a questionnaire survey, individual interviews and records and the collected 123 questionnaire surveys are utilized for an data analysis. Questionnaire surveys are conducted in K and S Universities infirmaries and K general hospital in Seoul and C and J general hospital in near Seoul area from Sep. 27th to Nov. 4th, 2000. The instruments of this study were as follows: Yoon's used the revised and supplemented instrument to test the level of the knowledge of osteoporosis and she referred to the substance of Cassells & Knotz. Lee's revised and supplemented the instrument called Health Promoting Life style Profile that were invented by Walker, Sechrist & Pender and she used it to test the health promoting behaviors with the questionnaires added by this researcher. They are not related to the quality of life but relevant to the patients. Ro's tested the quality of life with the instrument that was invented by herself. The results of this study were as follows. 1. The general characteristics of this study subjects showed that the age of the patients was concentrated from 50 to 59. The periods after menopause was mainly from 6 to 10 years. Subjective symptoms that patients usually complain were musculoskelectal symptoms. 2. The results of measuring the level of the knowledge of osteoporosis, the health promoting behaviors and the quality of life were following. The level of the knowledge was the score 19.83 and it was above middle score out of the score 27 as full marks. In the result of the health promoting behaviors test, the score average was 2.58 with 4 point rating scale and it was about middle score. The quality of life test showed that average score was 2.92 with 5 point rating scale and it indicated that the quality was also around middle score. 3. The statistical test in the activities for promoting health according to the general characteristics of the patients showed that only monthly income has statistically significant difference(F-4.761, p=.004). The same test for the qualify of life indicated that the quality of life was higher from 1 to 5 years after menopause but it was not meaningful statistically. 4. In the correlation among the level of knowledge of osteoporosis, the health promoting behaviors and the qualify of life of the patients, showed a relationship between the health promoting behaviors and the qualify of life. The higher the health promoting behaviors, it was also higher the quality of life. But it was statistically significant with significant positive correlation.