Women’s Menopause-Related Complaints and Coping Strategies: Manisa Sample

The purpose of the study was to identify health problems suffered by menopausal women and alternative coping methods used by them. The study is a descriptive cross-sectional one. The population of the study comprised 45-59-year-old women enrolled in the third family health center in Manisa (n = 629). The minimum sample size was calculated using 50% of prevalence and 4% margin of error at the 95% confidence interval and was found to be 239.In the study, the Socio-Demographic Questionnaire, Coping with Menopausal Symptoms Questionnaire and Menopause Rating Scale were used. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used. The women’s mean age was 51.7 ± 3.9. Of the participating women, 94.6% went through the menopause, 50.6% were knowledgeable about the menopausal period, 41.4% learned about menopause from friends or other people around and 72.8% never receive any menopause-related drug therapy. Alternative treatment methods used by women suffering menopause symptoms were as follows: having sage tea for hot flashes and sweating (35.6%), having herbal tea for nervousness (44.4%), eating almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, apricots and raisins for physical and mental fatigue (53.1%). It was found that menopausal women suffered a lot of physical and psychological problems and used several alternative methods for coping