Menopause is a normal life stage, yet studies found very limited self-care knowledge and activity among affected women. This study asks whether a short questionnaire can make that gap visible. Menopause is a normal stage in a woman’s life, marked by the end of menstruation after twelve months without a period, and its symptoms can affect health and quality of life.

But despite the importance of self-care to menopausal women’s health and quality of life, studies report limited knowledge and activity about self-care. In one study, only zero point eight percent of Iranian menopausal women performed appropriate self-care activities.

The relationship between self-care knowledge, attitude, and health is apparent, but studies examining women’s self-care knowledge and attitude specifically for menopausal women appear to be lacking. So the study aimed to develop and evaluate the Women’s Self-care Knowledge and Attitude Questionnaire, or WSKAQ, a short questionnaire suitable for the menopause community and covering self-care knowledge and attitudes.

The questionnaire was tested by looking for groups of knowledge questions that belonged together. The knowledge questions formed two groups, explaining forty-seven point two nine percent of the differences in answers. The groups were named by health-promotion experts as lifestyle and screenings, with three items in each, using a scientific reference framework for the self-care component.

The questions in the self-care attitude subscale formed one group, explaining fifty-five point five zero percent of the differences in the questionnaire answers. The results revealed two components in self-care knowledge: lifestyle and screenings.

The lifestyle questions covered fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and social support for decreased stress. The screening questions covered the timing of cervical screening, breast self-examination, and visits to a gynecologist or midwife. Self-care activities described in scientific papers also include healthy food, physical activity, preventive care, and stress control.

Self-care attitude was represented by one component that included seven items. The results also showed that menopausal women with education at diploma level or higher had higher self-care attitude scores than women with lower education levels.

The final questionnaire showed consistent results: its two overall reliability values were zero point seventy-seven and zero point seventy-eight. Its knowledge section reached zero point seventy-nine, and its attitude section reached zero point eighty-one.

Knowledge and attitude scores were strongly related to the questionnaire’s total score, while the relationship between the two sections was medium, at zero point thirty. But the findings do not apply equally to everyone. The study took place in urban health centers and focused only on urban women, so future research is needed in rural health centers and with rural women.

Only women with at least primary education were included, which limits how well the findings apply to women who cannot read. The answers were also self-reported, so errors and emotional state may have affected them. The study produced a thirteen-question tool covering self-care knowledge and attitudes, and found it consistent enough for Iranian menopausal women.

It offers a structured way to identify where support may be needed, though its reach is limited.