Role of Religious Health, Sexual Knowledge, and Sexual Attitude in Predicting the Sexual Function of Postmenopausal Women

Menopause can lead to psychological and social consequences, amongwhich sexual function has received special attention. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sexual knowledge, sexual attitude, and religious health on predicting the sexual function of postmenopausal women.

This descriptive correlational study was performed on 258 postmenopausal women who referred to Qazvin comprehensive health care centers, Qazvin, Iranduring January 2019-June 2019. The samples were selected through multistage, cluster, and convenience sampling methods. Data collection tools included a demographic and sexual function questionnaire, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire, Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Scale (SKAS), and Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) by Ellison. All the data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS software.

The mean scores of sexual knowledge and sexual attitude in postmenopausal women were lower than half of the obtainable point. Moreover, the research participants had moderate religious health. The sexual function had a significant direct statistical relationship with sexual knowledge, sexual attitude, and religious health. In addition, the results of the regression analysis showed that the predictor variables can significantly explain the criterion variables.

According to our findings, postmenopausal women who had higher levels of religious health, knowledge, and attitudes demonstrated better sexual performance. Therefore, health care and counseling should be taken into consideration.