A Community Based Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Osteoporosis Awareness among Urban Housewives of Prayagraj City

Background: Globally, osteoporosis is becoming an increasingly serious health issue. Since Osteoporotic fractures are increasing in frequency and the general public is less aware of the condition, the burden of the illness on the healthcare system and the populace as a whole is steadily rising. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 90 urban housewives of Prayagraj city of Uttar Pradesh to measure their knowledge and awareness about osteoporosis. The study also aimed to determine the correlation between their level of education and osteoporosis awareness and its associated risk factors. Random sampling was employed to select housewives belonging to Middle adulthood (40- 65 years) and late adulthood (more than 65 years). Thereafter respondents were screened according to their age by purposive sampling. Socio-demographic characteristics and life style related information of the respondents was evaluated using a self-structured questionnaire. Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT) was utilised to evaluate their level of understanding about osteoporosis. Result: The results of the study indicated that 61.2% of the respondents had satisfactory knowledge about osteoporosis followed by 25.5% who possessed good knowledge about it. A high correlation (0.725) was noted between Education level of respondents and their osteoporosis awareness level. Conclusion: Overall knowledge was found to be the highest in women having higher education levels in comparison to women who were less educated. It was recommended to design interventional strategies for women who are less educated to increase their awareness about risk factors and health hazards of osteoporosis.