"A natural consequence of aging in women?": a mixed-method exploration on osteoporosis self-efficacy in Turkey.

UNLABELLED: The perception of osteoporosis self-efficacy is an important factor in coping with osteoporosis. Being older, not exercising regularly, inadequate consumption of milk and dairy products, inadequate exposure to sunlight, knowledge gaps, negative disease perceptions, and barriers to osteoporosis treatment adherence negatively affect osteoporosis self-efficacy levels of women (p < 0.001).

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study to determine the osteoporosis-related self-efficacy levels of women with osteoporosis and investigate the relationship between the characteristics of these women and their osteoporosis self-efficacy.

METHODS

The study was conducted in Siirt province in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. A mixed-method approach was selected. Data were collected with 280 surveys and 30 participants' interviews.

RESULTS

The mean total OSES score of the participants was 649.82 ± 221.09. Aging, not exercising regularly, inadequate consumption of milk and dairy products, and inadequate exposure to sunlight were significant predictors of low osteoporosis self-efficacy (p < 0.001), explaining 23.4% of the total variance. Knowledge gaps, disease perceptions, facilitators of treatment adherence, and barriers to treatment adherence affected the osteoporosis self-efficacy of the participants.

CONCLUSION

The osteoporosis-related self-efficacy levels of the participants of this study were low. The results suggest that a strategy to organize routine health education programs should be established in order to create a higher perception of osteoporosis self-efficacy in women with osteoporosis and to reduce knowledge gaps and barriers.