Bone Abstracts

Background: Postmenopausal women are at high risk for osteoporosis, and early adoption of osteoporosis-preventative behaviours, such as physical activity and dietary calcium intake, can help mitigate this risk. Behavioural studies have shown that knowledge and health beliefs are key factors associated with adoption of healthy behaviours. There are few such studies regarding osteoporosis in South America. Our aim was to conduct an exploratory study evaluating osteoporosis-related knowledge and health beliefs among a group of female community leaders in Peru, who may potentially serve as promoters of bone health in future community-based osteoporosis interventions.

Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional study among female community leaders in a peri-urban setting. Participants completed a four-part questionnaire that included the internationally validated Osteoporosis Knowledge Test (OKT) and Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS), questions regarding sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and questions pertaining to osteoporosis and fracture risk.

Results: A total of 60 women were interviewed (88% participation rate). Mean age of the participants was 43.7±8.3 years, mean BMI was 30.4±5.3 kg/m² and 58.3% had completed high school education or beyond. The majority of interviewed women had a relatively high knowledge regarding osteoporosis based upon the OKT, and reported high perceived benefits to exercise and calcium intake, and relatively high health motivation. The level of osteoporosis knowledge was highly associated with level of education (PR 1.94, 95% CI: 1.23–3.09; P=0.005). We also found a trend for association between level of knowledge and perceived benefits to exercise and calcium intake.

Conclusions: We found that Peruvian female community leaders were knowledgeable regarding osteoporosis and reported high health motivation. Due to their investment in their communities, this population should be a key component of future osteoporosis-related community-based studies and interventions. Finally, we were able to demonstrate that a larger study would be feasible and even desired within this population.