Abstract

Little or no work has been done on sociocultural beliefs and sexual activity of postmenopausal women in Nigeria. This study was carried out to assess socio-cultural beliefs and sexual activity among postmenopausal women in Ibadan NorthEast Local Government Area. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 522 postmenopausal women aged 40–65 years. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, attitude to sociocultural beliefs regarding sexual activity and current sexual activity of respondents. Descriptive χ² and logistic regression were used for data analysis. The mean age of the respondents was 54.0±5.6 years. Overall, 45.7% agreed with at least one of the stated socio-cultural beliefs and the mean attitudinal score was 4.1±3.2. Among those who currently had partners, only 30.7% reported post-menopausal sexual activity. Significantly higher proportions of those with no formal education (78.6%), those aged ≥50 years (69.9%) and with supportive attitude towards the socio-cultural beliefs (83.8%) reported cessation of post-menopausal sexual activity (p<0.05). The significant predictors for cessation of post-menopausal sexual activity were no formal education (OR=4.1, 95% CI from 2.0 to 8.3), supportive attitude towards socio-cultural beliefs (OR=5.6, 95% CI from 3.4 to 9.4) and older age group (OR=4.1, 95% CI from 2.4 to 7.0). Socio-cultural beliefs affected post-menopausal sexual activity among these women; this may result in their partners seeking for alternative sexual partners with the attendant problems of sexually transmitted infections. There is need for the development of educational interventions targeted at changing these beliefs.