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

Abstract

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. 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. 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. 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.