Australian women’s understanding of menopause and its consequences: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background

This study was undertaken to determine women’s knowledge of menopause and its consequences, and their menopause-related health-care experiences.

Methods

Participants were recruited to this cross-sectional qualitative study from a nationally, representative sample of Australian women. Recruitment was stratified by age to achieve groups of premenopausal (PRE), perimenopausal (PERI), early postmenopausal (E-POST), and late postmenopausal (L-POST) women.

Results

The 32 participants were aged 46–69 years: 10 PRE, three PERI, 11 E-POST and eight L-POST women. All understood that menopause meant the end of reproductive function and were aware of menopause-associated symptoms. Most PRE and E-POST women referred to lifestyle changes to optimize health, and self-help and complementary therapies to manage symptoms. E-POST and L-POST women were more likely to nominate seeing a doctor for overall health and symptom management. Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) was viewed negatively, with shared perceptions of cancer risk and over-prescription. A strong theme was lack of knowledge of long-term menopause sequelae, with only four women nominating osteoporosis.

Conclusions

Our in-depth qualitative study would suggest that, while Australian midlife women have a good understanding of the immediate effects of menopause, their lack of knowledge of the long-term consequences is concerning. Despite the effectiveness and safety of MHT, the overall attitude to MHT remains negative.

摘要

目的：本研究旨在了解女性对绝经及其后果以及绝经相关保健经验的认识。

方法：从全国具有代表性的澳大利亚妇女样本中招募本横断面定性研究的参与者。被招募者按年龄分层, 分为绝经前期（PRE）, 围绝经期（PERI）, 绝经后早期（E-POST）和绝经后晚期（L-POST）妇女。

结果：32名参与者的年龄范围为46-69岁：10名PRE, 3名PERI, 11名E-POST, 8名L-POST。所有人都知道绝经意味着生殖功能的终止并了解更年期相关的症状。大多数PRE和E-POST妇女都提到通过改变生活方式以优化健康状况, 以及自助和补充疗法来控制症状。E-POST和L-POST妇女更有可能因整体健康和症状管理而就医。对绝经激素治疗（MHT）持消极态度, 普遍认为有癌症风险和处方过量。一个大的问题是缺乏对绝经后的远期后遗症的认识, 仅有四名妇女认识到了骨质疏松症。

结论：通过我们的深入定性研究表明：尽管澳大利亚中年妇女对绝经的直接后果有很好的了解, 但她们缺乏对远期后果的认识。尽管MHT具有有效性和安全性, 但对MHT的总体态度仍然是负面的。

Keywords:

• Menopause
• menopausal hormone therapy
• knowledge of menopause

Potential conflict of interest

Dr Davis reports having received honoraria from Besins Healthcare and Pfizer Australia and has been a consultant to Roche Pharmaceuticals, Mayne Pharmaceuticals, Lawley Pharmaceuticals and Que Oncology. No other potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article are reported.

Additional information

Funding

Nil.