An empowerment model of Iranian women for the management of menopause: a grounded theory study

Mansoureh Yazdkhasti,Reza Negarandeh,Zahra Behboodi Moghadam

doi:10.1080/17482631.2019.1665958

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives: There is still no clear portrayal of women's empowerment in managing menopause. The present study was conducted to design a model for the empowerment of Iranian women in managing menopause. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using the grounded theory on 40-60-year-old women who were first selected through purposive sampling and then by theoretical sampling from November 2013 to July 2016. Data were collected using 33 in-depth, semi-structured, individual interviews with 30 participants. Data were analyzed using the Strauss and Corbin(2008) approach and organized in MAXQDA-10. Results: The analysis of the data led to the emergence of "active coping with menopause" as the core variable with four themes. The two themes "threat to feminine identity" and "latent opportunity" explained the context of the study, and "redefining the feminine identity" and "self-retrieval" explained its process. Conclusion: In our social context, the phenomenon of menopause is a coin with two sides and its experience leans more on the threat to feminine identity and less on latent opportunity. The model of postmenopausal women’s empowerment for managing menopause might offer health policy-makers a realistic and divergent understanding of the challenges of empowering women by explaining key concepts.

Highlights

Menopause is an important event in a woman’s life cycle and its biological process involves the permanent discontinuation of menstruation induced by the cessation of ovarian function and is associated with the lack of menstrual cycles after twelve full months
In our social context, the phenomenon of menopause is a coin with two sides and its experience leans more on the threat to feminine identity and less on latent opportunity
Iranian postmenopausal women have shaped their ability to manage menopause in the context of the heavier weight given to the threat to feminine identity and the lighter weight given to latent opportunity

Summary

Introduction

Menopause is an important event in a woman’s life cycle and its biological process involves the permanent discontinuation of menstruation induced by the cessation of ovarian function and is associated with the lack of menstrual cycles after twelve full months. The natural process of ageing is associated with dramatic biological, psychological and social changes for women (Harris, 2013; Nosek, Kennedy, & Gudmundsdottir, 2012). The natural phenomenon of menopause is multidimensional, and includes biological, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual dimensions, and is proposed as women’s second maturation (Goldstein, 2000). European women describe menopause as a distressing and health-threatening process (Hall, Callister, Berry, & Matsumura, 2007). In the north Indian culture, women welcome menopause. For these women, menopause is regarded as a natural phenomenon that creates respect, freedom and broader social interactions. The present study was conducted to design a model for the empowerment of Iranian women in managing menopause. The two themes "threat to feminine identity" and "latent opportunity" explained the context of the study, and "redefining the feminine identity" and "self-retrieval" explained its process

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion