The purpose of this study was to assess the effects among a population of elderly women of an educational intervention related to osteoporosis on the population within the contexts of (1) health care knowledge related to osteoporosis, (2) health care beliefs related to osteoporosis, and the efficacy of self care related to osteoporosis. Three hypotheses were tested in the conduct of this study. These hypotheses were stated as follows:
1. Elderly women who received osteoporosis teaching concerning calcium have more knowledge about calcium than elderly women without calcium instructions.
2. Strength of health care beliefs related to osteoporosis susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, barriers, and health motivation of elderly women with osteoporosis instruction differ from those without osteoporosis instruction.
3. Elderly women who receive osteoporosis teaching concerning calcium have self efficacy differences from those subjects not receiving the instruction.
The results of the research performed are presented in this chapter. Two sets of results are presented. First, the results of the hypothesis testing are presented. Second, supplementary results related to the research problem are presented.
As indicated above, three hypotheses were tested. These results are presented separately by hypothesis. To be accepted,
the results of the quantitative analyses were required to be statistically significant at p<.05. For hypothesis number one, the acceptance criteria also required that the calcium knowledge score for the experimental group be greater than that for the control group.
A total of seven quantitative analyses were performed in the testing of hypothesis number two. Full acceptance of hypothesis number two required that the results of all seven quantitative analyses be statistically significant at p<.05, and that the relevant score means for the experimental group be greater than those for the cont...