An Interventional Study for Osteoporosis Prevention among Female Employees of Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University.

Background: Osteoporosis is a debilitating and silent metabolic disorder that millions of people suffer from .It is considered preventable by means of adequate nutrition, sufficient physical activity and healthy lifestyle. Participation in "Health educational intervention programs" is effective in osteoporosis prevention and treatment.Objective: To measure the level of knowledge, attitude and practice about osteoporosis prevention among female employees of faculty medicine at Ain-Shams University before and after implementation of health education intervention program.
Methodology: An Interventional study was conducted in January till the end of May 2014. All female employees in Ain Shams University – Faculty of Medicine fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included (n= 260) in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by the study subjects before, immediately after and two months after a health education intervention program. This program was a lecture in the form of power point presentation to raise the awareness and improve the attitude and practice towards osteoporosis prevention.
Results: There was a significant increase in the mean scores of the participants’ knowledge (from 2.7 ±2.8 pretest to 12.4 ±1.3 post-test as regard knowledge about risk factors. Also from 1.1 ±1.4 pretest to 5.4 ±0.9 post-test as regard knowledge about preventive and diagnostic practices) attitude, and preventive practice after implementation of health education program.
Conclusion: The health education intervention was effective in increasing knowledge, attitude and practice as regards osteoporosis prevention.