Influence of menopause on work productivity among health workers in public hospitals in Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

Introduction: Menopause has been established as cause for impaired work productivity in women health workers in general. However, studies on the influence of menopause on work productivity among women employed in public hospitals in Kenya has been little or underreported.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of menopause on work productivity among health workers in Kiambu County, Kenya.

Method: A case control study design was adopted comprising 239 cases aged 40-60 and 239 controls aged 40-60 years. Cases comprised women in menopause while controls comprised women not in menopause. A validated questionnaire on Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) was used to collect data on extent and influence of menopause on work productivity. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the study sample and work productivity while Chi-square Test was
used to analyze the association between menopause and work productivity using SPSS software, v20.

Results: Findings indicated that the average age at menopause was 48.5 years. The study revealed a 28% overall Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) among women. Women in menopause had the highest WPAI index of 38% while those not in menopauses had a WPAI of 18%. Chi-square Test analysis showed that menopause is associated with work absenteeism (p=0.001) and productivity impairment (p=0.001).

Conclusion: Menopause impairs work productivity and results in greater work absenteeism. This makes menopause a sensitive workplace issue.

Keywords: Menopause, Work Productivity, Work Impairment, Work Absenteeism