Description
Menopause crisis is not considered a major issue in most organizations and therefore it is disregarded at work place. Among female teachers it may be worsened by unfavourable working environment but significance of these factors in Laikipia County is not yet known. This study examined the influence of the physical environment on menopause crisis for public primary schools’ female teachers in Laikipia County. The study utilized ex post facto research design and was based on the Person-Environment-Occupation Theory of Occupational Performance, and the Erik Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development. The target population were 600 female teachers and 317 school head teachers, the County Director, Teachers Service Commission, and the hospital superintendent, Nanyuki County Referral Hospital, giving a total of 919 individuals in Laikipia County. The researcher used stratified sampling, two stage clustered sampling, random sampling and purposive sampling techniques to determine the sample. The sample of the study was 410. The research instrument of the study were a structured questionnaire and a key informant interview schedule. In order to test the reliability of the research instrument, it was pilot-tested in schools in the neighbouring Nyandarua County. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data The findings have revealed that physical environment have a statistically significant (r2=0.683; p-value 0.0398) at 0.05 confidence level. The study concludes that most primary schools face inadequate physical facilities to support menopausal female teachers especially toilets. A significant number of schools do not have adequate access to clean water.Physical environment have an influence on the management of menopause crises. The study recommends that administrators should ensure that schools have clean and comfortable toilets that are neither too close nor to far from the staff rooms, and should ensure there is access to clean tap water.
