| A total of 420 women recruited from Ramathibodi hospital, Bangkok, Thailand were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. The objectives of this study are: (1) to examine the differences among intenders, non-intenders, and the undecided; (2) to examine the factors associated with HRT intention; and (3) to examine how HRT intention and factors influencing that intention change as a function of menopausal status. The study reported that knowledge regarding menopause, beliefs towards menopause, perceived benefit over risk of HRT, and HRT intention were found to be significantly associated with menopausal status. On the other hand, no association between menopausal status and knowledge regarding HRT, decisional uncertainty, attitude towards HRT, perceived threat of menopause, and perceived information inadequacy was found. When compared to intenders and non-intenders, the undecided were significantly less knowledgeable, and perceived the highest level of information inadequacy. Being inadequately informed was the most important factor that distinguished the undecided from intenders, and non-intenders. When looking at intenders and non-intenders, no significant difference in perceived information inadequacy, level of knowledge regarding menopause and HRT, and perceived risk of HRT was found. However, the results indicated that intenders perceived higher benefit over risk of HRT (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02, 1.07), held more negative beliefs towards menopause (OR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.03, 2.53), and was approximately two times more likely to have ever used oral contraceptives (OR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.13, 3.47) than non-intenders. |
