Knowledge, attitude and prescription practice of menopausal hormone replacement therapy by doctors in UITH, Ilorin Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and prescription practice of menopausal-HRT (mHRT) by doctors in UITH, Ilorin.Method: All consenting doctors in O&G, Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Public Health and Interns at the UITH completed a structured questionnaire. SPSS software version 22 was used for analysis. Associations between categorical variables were tested using the chi-square (x2) while the student-t test was used for the continuous variables (p <0.05).Results: Eighty doctors, 56 males and 24 females responded. Majority (63.8%) rated their knowledge of mHRT average; (17.5%) believed they had good knowledge, while (18.7%) had poor knowledge. Gynaecologists had the highest mHRT Knowledge Score (72.4) while public health doctors had the lowest (33.7), (83.7%) had no formal training on the use of mHRT. Fifty-five percent did not think menopause should be treated. Just 25% prescribed mHRT where 58.8% had no reason for not prescribing. Only 18.8% had ever referred menopause patients to specialists. Forty percent use alternative therapies for menopausal symptoms, majorly vitamins and herbs.Conclusion: The knowledge, attitude and prescription practice of the studied doctors was poor. Trainings are still needed in this area.Keywords: Menopause; hormone replacement therapy; doctors