Health information needs of 1000 midlife Singaporean women

Abstract

Objectives

Due to demographic changes, aging is a health priority. We aimed to identify midlife women’s perceived health information needs and the preferred method(s) of information delivery.

Methods

A questionnaire was offered to women, aged 45–69 years, attending gynecological clinics during April/May 2016, collecting age and ethnicity data. Participants were asked to indicate important midlife health topics out of 26 topics, including ‘other’. For each topic, six delivery options were offered. Age was stratified by 5-year intervals. Associations with age and ethnicity were examined using Pearson’s chi-square tests (p < 0.05); analyses were performed with SPSS version 22.0.

Results

The top health topics chosen were gynecological cancer (66.0%), joint/muscle aches and pain (64.4%), bone health (63.2%), breast screening (55.9%), and heart health (55.3%). Adjusted results from the logistic regression model found that the odds of choosing the topics gynecological cancer, cervical screening, and complementary and alternative medicine for menopausal symptoms were significantly lower in age groups 55–59, 60–64 and 65–69 years compared to age group 45–49 years. Both Malay and Indian women were less likely to report bone health as important (odds ratio = 0.59, 95% confidence interval = 0.41–0.86) and (odds ratio = 0.64, 95% confidence interval = 0.42–0.98), respectively. Written leaflets were chosen by the majority (84.7%).

Conclusion

This study of over 1000 midlife Asian women found that holistic health information is desired and requires tailoring by age, not ethnicity. Written information was preferred over support groups. These findings will guide clinical health services in delivering patient-centered information resources for midlife women.

摘要

目的：由于人口结构的变化, 老龄化是一个卫生优先事项。我们的目的是确定中年妇女对健康信息的感知需求和信息传递的首选方法。

方法：对2016年4月/ 5月期间在妇科诊所就诊的45岁/ 69岁女性进行问卷调查, 收集年龄和种族数据。要求参与者从26个主题中选出自认为重要的中年健康主题, 包括“其他”。对于每个主题, 提供了六种选择。年龄按5年间隔分层。应用SPSS 22.0版进行分析, 用Pearson卡方检验（p<0.05）分析年龄和种族的关系。

结果：最为关注的健康主题包括妇科癌症（66.0%）、关节/肌肉疼痛和疼痛（64.4%）、骨骼健康（63.2%）、乳房检查（55.9%）和心脏健康（55.3%）。经logistic回归模型调整后的结果发现, 55-59岁、60-64岁和65-69岁年龄组的妇女癌症、子宫颈筛查和更年期症状的补充和替代药物的选择机率明显低于45-49岁年龄组。马来人和印度妇女都认为骨骼健康不是很重要（odds ratio=0.59, 95%置信区间=0.41-0.86）和（odds ratio=0.64, 95%置信区间=0.42-0.98）。大多数人选择书面传单（84.7%）。

结论：这项对1000多名中年亚洲妇女的研究发现, 人们希望获得全面的健康信息, 需要根据年龄而不是种族进行调整。书面信息比支持小组更受欢迎。这些发现将指导临床保健服务为中年妇女提供以病人为中心的信息资源。

关键词

健康信息需求；中年女性；亚洲；更年期；健康信息传递

Keywords:

• Health information needs
• midlife women
• Asian
• menopause
• health information delivery

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the study participants and the staff at Clinic G, especially Sheena who assisted in the study recruitment and data collection. They are grateful to Ms Teo Yean Ling, Mayvien, and Ms Zhang Xuan who conducted translation and back-translation of the survey, and Dr Izzudin Aris who gave statistical advice.

Ethics approval

The National Healthcare Group Domain Specific Review Board (NHG DSRB) approved this study in May 2016.

Potential conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Source of funding

Nil.