Attitude and knowledge for menopause management among health professionals in mainland China

Abstract

Objective

This study aims to understand the attitude of health-care professionals (HPs) in mainland China toward menopause management (MM) as well as the knowledge they have received regarding MM during training.

Methods

An anonymous survey recruited 3709 medical workers nationwide (including physicians, orthopedists, obstetricians and gynecologists, and general practitioners) through online surveys and on-site interviews at professional meetings.

Results

Of the 3709 questionnaires completed, 3426 questionnaires met the inclusion criteria. Of the participants, 1532 HPs had not received menopause management training (MMT) in nearly 1 year. Among the residents and physician assistants, 103 reported they were not familiar with MM. Satisfyingly, 98.3% of HPs considered it very important or essential to accept MM. Although most interviewees replied some correct menopausal knowledge, nearly half of them could not correctly identify the contraindications for menopause hormone therapy (MHT). Additionally, 73.1% of HPs would advise patients with premature ovarian insufficiency to receive hormone replacement therapy at least until the average age of menopause.

Conclusion

This survey indicated that HPs have some knowledge regarding MM, but a gap remains to master the basic theory of MHT. In order to manage the growing menopausal population in China, creating more in-depth educational MMT programs for HPs is necessary.

摘要

目的：本研究旨在了解中国大陆的医护专业人员（HPs）对更年期管理（MM）的态度, 以及他们在培训期间获得的有关MM的知识。

方法：一项匿名调查通过在线调查和在专业会议上进行的现场采访在全国范围内招募了3709名医务工作者（包括内科医生、骨科医生、妇产科医生和全科医生）。

结果：在完成的3709份问卷中, 有3426份符合纳入标准。在参与者中, 有1532名HPs接受了将近1年的更年期管理培训（MMT）。在住院医师和医师助理中, 有103位报告他们不熟悉MM。令人满意的是, 有98.3％的HPs认为接受MM非常重要或必不可少。 尽管大多数受访者回答了一些正确的更年期知识, 但其中近一半无法正确识别绝经激素疗法（MHT）的禁忌证。此外, 有73.1％的HPs会建议早发性卵巢功能不全的患者至少在平均绝经年龄前接受激素替代疗法。

结论：这项调查表明, HPs对MM有一定的了解, 但是在掌握MHT的基本理论方面仍然存在差距。为了管理中国不断增长的更年期人口, 有必要针对HPs制定更深入的MMT教育计划。

Keywords:

• Menopause management
• menopause hormone therapy
• attitude
• knowledge

Acknowledgements

The authors thank all of the participants for their kind support for this study. The authors would like to thank Taylor & Francis Editing (www.tandfeditingservices.com) for English language editing.

Potential conflict of interest

All authors confirm that there are no conflicts of interest associated with the article.

Source of funding

This study was supported by National Key Research and Development Program [grant number 2018YFC1002105]; CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (CIFMS) [grant number 2017-I2M-1-002].