Effect of a menopausal health training led by health volunteers on community women's knowledge; an interventional study

There are a few studies on the role of health volunteers in teaching women menopause-related self-care. The present study was، therefore، carried out to evaluate the role of health volunteers in teaching women about menopausal health. 48 health volunteers and 480 women in 8 from 70 urban health centers affiliated to Shiraz district health authority، selected through a multistage random sampling participated in this quasi-experimental study. An 8-hour workshop was conducted over two days for health volunteers. The volunteers، then، were asked to teach women about menopausal health. A self-administered questionnaire was used for collecting demographic data. Knowledge levels of volunteers and women were measured using a written test (CR20=0. 66)، composing of 30 multiple choices questions، before and after educational interventions. Research data were processed and analyzed، using nonparametric tests (Wilcoxon and Mann Whitney tests)، in SPSS statistical software، version 11. 5. The mean score of knowledge of health volunteers in experimental group increased from 17. 1، before workshop، to 29. 2 after that (p<0. 001). Means of knowledge scores in volunteers control group in pretest and posttest were 16. 3 and 14. 7، respectively. The women''s knowledge in the experimental group، significantly increased from 12. 4، before training by volunteers، to 25. 4، after that (p<0. 001). The women''s knowledge levels in the control group in the pretest and posttest were 15. 1 and 14. 9، respectively. The findings of this study showed the effectiveness of training intervention in empowering health volunteers، as well as the volunteers ability in teaching community women about menopausal health. the study also suggests health authorities to consider the utilized protocol in their planned initiatives for promoting women''s health.