Effect of a health education intervention with a feedback leaflet for middle-aged female workers

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a health education intervention conducting using a feedback leaflet including personal data in the initial survey on health related quality of life (QOL), depression, menopausal symptoms, and role burden
Methods: A total of 113 middle-aged female workers were randomly assigned to an intervention (n=57) and control group (n=56). An educational intervention was conducted using feedback leaflet pertaining to the individual data obtained from the initial survey. The following conditions were detected from the survey health related QOL (medical outcomes study-short form-36(SF-36)), depression (Center for Epidemiologic Study Depression Scale (CES-D)), menopausal symptoms (Kupperman Index), and role burden related to housekeeping or work (visual analogue scales (VAS)) measured at baseline, after three months.
Results: The educational intervention did not improve all mental and physical aspects of the health related QOL (SF-36) and other outcomes in 108 females. However, among those who belonged to the depression group, the intervention group (n=10) showed an improvement as compared to the control group (n=10) on the role physical scale in eight subdomain SF-36 scores (P=0.03).
Conclusion: The health education intervention using a feedback leaflet can be effective among those who are in a state of depression.