Predictors of participation in health care at menopause

Patient participation in health care is widely advocated but little is know n about the factors influencing patients' active participation. To learn wh ether attitudes and beliefs helped predict patient participation, 252 midli fe women completed measures of self-efficacy, perceived barriers to partici pation, attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions following a decision to support intervention on menopause. Two months following the intervention, 63 women who had visited a health care provider returned questionnaires by mail regarding self-reported participation in the health care encounter and satisfaction with the decision about estrogen replacement therapy. The res ults were that self-efficacy (beta = .19; p < .05) significantly predicted intention to participate in the next health care encounter. Both patient in tentions (beta = .40;p < .05) and perceived barriers (beta = -.27, p < .05) were significant predictors of self-reported participation. Active partici pation (beta = .42; p < .05) and attitude (beta = .25; p < .05) were associ ated with increased satisfaction with decision. Participation resulted in i ncreased self-efficacy (beta = .30; p < .05). The conclusions were that mid life women who express more confidence in their ability to participate in t heir health care have greater intentions to participate. Women who experien ce fewer barriers to participation and have more intention to participate a re more likely to report actively participating in a health care encounter, and self-reported participation and more positive attitudes toward partici pation are associated with greater satisfaction with decisions.