Place of residence and age as variables differentiating health behaviours and perception of health by women past menopause

Introduction Research on the meaning of health and health behaviors is important for the development of health education programmes which should be tailored to the needs of patients. Objective The aim of the study is to determine whether the place of residence and age have an impact on health behaviours and the perception of health by women past menopause. Material and methods A survey method and three research instruments were employed: authors’ questionnaire, the Health Behaviour Inventory and the Health Criteria List by Juczyński, and the Kupperman Index. The study was carried out among a sample of 102 women after menopause hospitalised in a hospital in eastern Poland. Results The overall health behaviour indicator (HBI) in the study group was found to reach an average value of 80.1±12.7points. A higher HBI indicator was found to be characteristic of urban rather than rural residents; however, there was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05). The age of respondents did not differentiate statistically their health behaviours (p>0.05). Women who reported their last menstruation before the age of 50 obtained higher results in the dimension of health practices (HPs) than those whose last menstruation ceased after the age of 50 (p