“You’re acting womanish!” A qualitative descriptive study of the experiences of African American women in menopausal transition

ABSTRACT

This study explores how African American women understand and experience menopausal transition. Data were collected from 14 women in individual interviews and a focus group of seven participants. Transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. Black Feminist Thought and Womanist Thought were the frameworks used to understand the experiences of participants. Key themes emerged including silence as a form of survival, resilience amidst the chaos, socialization for self-preservation and empowerment, and reshaping and reclaiming womanhood. African American women need to be approached from a culturally sensitive care model to address their care during this phase and to optimize health outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• African American women
• menopausal transition
• perimenopause
• menopause
• midlife

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program [2016-2018].