Social support, anxiety level and quality of life perceived by menopausal women

The research was carried out to determine the relationships between perceived social support, anxiety level and menopausal women's quality of life. The female staff working at Sinop Atatürk State Hospital and Sinop Ayancık State Hospital, and the visitors and attendants of the patients who applied to the hospital and received treatment, who met the inclusion criteria 150 women participated in the study. The data; personal information form was collected using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Scale (MSQLS), and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). In the evaluation of the data; Percentage distribution, mean, standard deviation, Mann Whitney U test, Kruskall Wallis analysis and correlation analysis were used as descriptive statistics. When the relationship between the scales is examined in the research, it was determined that there was a significant and negative relationship between the sub-dimensions of the MSPSS and the MSQLS, with psychosocial and physical domain quality of life (p<0.05). It was determined that there was no relationship between the vasomotor domain and sexual domain quality of life and MSPSS subdimensions (p>0.05). It was determined that the relationship between the scales was at a partial level. As the perceived social support level of women increased, menopause-specific quality of life increased in psychosocial and physical domains, while vasomotor and sexual domains did not affect their quality of life. A significant and negative correlation was found between MSPSS score and BAI levels (p<0.05). It was determined that as the perceived social support level of women increased, their anxiety levels decreased. A significant and positive relationship was found between the MSQLS score and the BAI levels (p<0.05). It was determined that as the menopausal quality of life of women increased, their anxiety levels decreased. In order to increase the quality of life of women in the menopause period, anxiety should be reduced and social support should be increased. For this reason, necessary education and counseling services should be provided to women in the menopausal period. Keywords: Anxiety, Menopause, Social Support, Life Quality