Perimenopausal Health Research Articles

The Measure of Perimenopausal Health Self-efficacy of Middle East women

The Measure of Perimenopausal Health Self-efficacy of Middle East women

Seeking Health Care for Perimenopausal Symptoms: Observations from The Women Living Better Survey.

Background: The perimenopausal health care interaction can be challenging both for those seeking care and health care professionals (HCPs). We explore the factors that contribute to making these health care interactions either satisfying or unsatisfying for a midlife person with ovaries who consults an HCP about bothersome symptoms. Materials and Methods: Respondents to the Women Living Better (WLB) survey were asked about 61 symptoms often associated with the menopausal transition. They were then asked whether they sought health care for their most bothersome one. Of the 1024 participants who consulted an HCP, 964 provided a response to the open-ended question "how did that go?" We used conventional content analysis to code the responses and identify themes. Results: We identified six codes reflecting positive health care interactions which we then grouped into five themes suggesting satisfaction with these health care interactions. These included: validating experiences; having matching explanatory models; being supported by a team; engaging in shared decision-making; and having symptoms addressed. We identified 13 codes reflecting negative health care interactions which we then group into 4 themes suggesting dissatisfaction. These included: invalidating experiences, a mismatch in expectations between care recipients and HCP, barriers to treatment, and not feeling helped. Conclusions: Those seeking health care for bothersome symptoms on the path to menopause responded with both positive and negative comments about health care interactions in the WLB survey. Studying these comments identifies opportunities to improve midlife care.

The hidden WASH needs of perimenopausal women

Abstract Meeting the needs of an ageing population, particularly in the global South, is increasingly an issue for WASH service provision. An ageing-related issue for women, warranting specific attention from the WASH sector, is the perimenopause, but this is often not discussed publicly. Drawing on data from the UK and Ghana, this paper provides recommendations for meeting the additional WASH needs of women as they experience the perimenopause (the transition period to menopause). Finding these ‘hidden’ needs involved a UK-based phenomenological review and mixed feminist methods in two low-income urban communities in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana. The hidden WASH needs of perimenopausal women included understanding the perimenopause, menstrual hygiene management, urine incontinence management, bathing, and laundry. Community awareness, engagement and empowerment, and ensuring good perimenopausal health can begin to address these needs. Infrastructural measures for perimenopausal women include a continuous water supply, user-friendly bathing and laundry infrastructure, and gender-sensitive, accessible toilets with discrete sanitary disposal bins. High-absorbency sanitary products are important for managing heavy menstruation. A better understanding of the needs of perimenopausal women and training on how to meet these would benefit the WASH sector in ensuring that perimenopausal women are not left behind in efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

‘They should come forward with the information': menopause-related health literacy and health care experiences among Vietnamese-born women in Melbourne, Australia

ABSTRACT Objectives: Health literacy refers to an individual’s capacity to access, understand, evaluate and use health information to make well informed health-related decision to maintain and promote optimal health. Low health literacy is linked with worse health outcomes and is more common in people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and among people with limited education. Peri-menopausal and postmenopausal health behaviour predicts health in later life. This qualitative study was conducted in Melbourne, Australia. The aim of this study was to explore menopause-related health literacy and experiences with menopause-related health care among Vietnamese-born women who had immigrated to Australia as adults. Design: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with women aged between 45 and 60 years and who were either in the peri or postmenopausal phase. Transcripts were analysed thematically. Results: A total of 12 women were interviewed. Participants viewed menopause as a natural event and obtained most of their menopause-related information from family and friends. Limited English language proficiency affected their capacity to access, understand, evaluate and use menopause-related health information. They identified their Vietnamese speaking General Practitioners (GPs) as a reliable source of health information, but ‘shyness’ prevented them from asking questions about menopause and they suggested that GPs need to initiate menopause-related health conversations. Conclusion: Low menopause-related health literacy among Vietnamese-born immigrant women may limit their opportunities to access information about and benefit from menopause-related health-promoting behaviours. Access to menopause-related health information in relevant community languages is essential to support immigrant women to make well informed menopause-related health decisions.

Health Concerns of Perimenopausal Women

BackgroundPracticing perimenopausal health promotion is an important key stage for the healthy life of the coming elderly. However, there are few studies conducted on these women's subjective health concerns. Getting insight into their health concerns can help women implement their own health promotion lives.AimsThe goal is to generate data from the in-depth interview for perimenopausal women based on their perceptions, beliefs, values, and feelings regarding perimenopausal women’s subjective health concerns.Methods:The qualitative research by using content analysis was applied. In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 perimenopausal women with a mean age of 51.31 years. The constant comparative method was used to analyze the interview data.ResultsTwo themes and their subthemes were identified: (a) “Evaluating Health” - “Suspecting a menopausal disease or illness”, “Easily feel tired, lack energy, and feel not as strong as before”, “Worried about my abnormal physiological data” and (b) “Remaining Young” – “Worried that I lost my female characteristics and reproductive function”, “Weight loss is the focus of life, but it is not easy to achieve.”Conclusion“Evaluating Health” and “Remaining Young” are two health concerns for perimenopausal women. It is crucial for health providers to advocate these two concerns as slogans for perimenopausal health promotion women.

Demands for perimenopausal health care in women aged 40 to 60 years-a hospital-based cross-sectional study in Shanghai, China.

The aim of the study was to describe the major complaints of menopausal symptoms among middle-aged women who initiated healthcare seeking for menopausal symptoms and to understand the factors influencing women's decisions to seek perimenopausal health care in Shanghai, China. A cross-sectional study was performed in five hospitals in Shanghai. Women aged 40 to 60 years at their first visit to the perimenopausal outpatient departments/clinics were investigated in person over a 3-month period. Information on sociodemographics, menopausal symptoms, and experiences in seeking perimenopausal health care was collected using a structured questionnaire. Menopausal symptoms were assessed with the modified Kupperman Menopausal Index (mKMI). A total of 316 women were enrolled in the study, with an average age of 50.5 years (SD: 5.1 y). The prevalence of menopausal syndrome (mKMI >6 points) was 80%, with 7% of the cases being severe. The top five reported symptoms were hot flushes/sweating (62%), fatigue (54%), sleep disturbance (51%), mood swings (40%), and joint/muscle pain (40%). The median interval between symptom occurrence and seeking perimenopausal health care was 5.0 months (IQR: 2.0-23.3 mo). Cox regression analysis revealed that older age, no health insurance, employment, multiple symptoms, sleep disturbance, urinary incontinence, and visits to nonspecialized departments were significantly associated with a longer delay in seeking perimenopausal health services (P < 0.05). The prevalence of menopausal syndrome was relatively high among 40- to 60-year-old women who initiated healthcare seeking in Shanghai. Months of delay occurred before they sought perimenopausal health services. The delay was related to age, the nature and number of symptoms, working status, and health insurance. Improvement of the menopausal health knowledge in Chinese middle-aged women may lead to more timely healthcare seeking. Professional and accessible perimenopausal health services are in high demand in Shanghai.

The management of premenstrual syndrome in late reproductive years and perimenopause (perimenopausal health)

The management of premenstrual syndrome in late reproductive years and perimenopause (perimenopausal health)

Perimenopausal clinical performance as well as cognition and demand for knowledge of perimenopause in community-dwelling women

Objective To explore the clinical performance and related factors of perimenopausal syndrome, cognition and demand for perimenopausal knowledge in community-dwelling women. Methods During June 2009 to December 2011, a cross-section survey of perimenopausal symptoms as well as cognition and demand for perimenopausal knowledge was conducted in 1546 women aged 45 to 65 years in Shanghai Changfeng Community. Results The average menopausal age of this population was (49.5±3.7) years. The total prevalence of perimenopausal syndrome was 75.7% (n=1094) and 81.4%, 76.5%, 65.4% in women with primary school, middle school and college education background respectively (P=0.007). Sexual disorders (80.8%), hot flushes & sweating (64.7%) and fatigue (55.8%) were the most common symptoms of perimenopause. The most serious symptoms affecting daily lives included urinary symptoms, unsatisfactory sexual life and hot flushes & sweating. And 391 (27.1%), 238 (16.5%), 285 (19.8%) and 296 (20.5%) women did not know the concept of perimenopausal syndrome, possible symptoms, health measures or symptoms requiring medical attention. The common methods of acquiring the knowledge of perimenopause were communicating with peers (458, 31.7%), consulting professionals (364, 25.2%) and searching health care information (225, 17.6%). Conclusions In women, the prevalence of perimenopausal syndrome remains quite high. And a majority of them lack a sufficient knowledge of perimenopause and need professional guidance. Key words: Perimenopausal syndrome; Health service demand; Questionnaire

Promoting Perimenopausal Bone Health: What's Theory Got To Do With It?

Promoting Perimenopausal Bone Health: What's Theory Got To Do With It?

The longitudinal effects of a perimenopausal health education intervention on the mid-life women in Taiwan

Objectives The study purpose was to evaluate the longitudinal effects, after 3 months and 1-year, of a perimenopausal health education intervention for mid-life women in Taiwan. Methods This study was conducted at two hospitals and their neighborhood communities (each included three subgroups, traditional Chinese, gynecologic and neighborhood communities), using a parallel-design, control trial for mid-life women. There were three instruments: (1) the Perceived Uncertainty Scale, (2) the Perceived Perimenopausal Disturbances Scale and (3) the Practice of Health Behaviors Scale. The intervention effects from the study baseline to a 1-year follow-up were estimated using the mixed effect model (SAS-MIXED procedure) for repeated measures of health behaviors, perceived uncertainty and perceived perimenopausal disturbances. Results A total of 161 women were in the education group, while 174 women were in the control group. After a 1-year follow-up, health education intervention had significantly increased the practice of health behavior in both Chinese medicine subgroups ( β = 15.39, P < 0.001) and gynecologic clinics subgroup ( β = 10.08, P < 0.005). On the other hand, health education intervention had significantly decreased perceived uncertainty in subgroups of Chinese medicine ( β = −9.52, P < 0.005). Conclusions The perimenopausal health education had positive effects in reducing perceived uncertainty and increasing practice of health behavior among women from Chinese medicine clinics after a 1-year follow-up. Women from the gynecologic clinics showed the intervention effects of increasing health behavior after a three month and 1-year follow-ups. However, the women from neighborhood communities did not show any significant intervention effects at follow-ups. It is important to urge the women from communities to promote health practices for their perimenopausal transition instead of just living with their changing health.

Perimenopausal Health Self-efficacy Among Hispanic Caribbean and Non-Hispanic White Women

The perimenopausal experience varies among different ethnic and cultural groups. This research examined perimenopausal health self-efficacy of Latinas and non-Hispanic White women and variables that predicted health in 147 women ages 40 to 60 in the Northeast United States. Self-efficacy scores were similar for both groups. Latinas scored lower, however, in the Cognition/Decision Making subscale of the Perimenopausal Health Self-Efficacy Survey (PHS-ES). Perceived health was predicted by control over health and stress for both, and greater self-efficacy was associated with higher perceptions of health. Subtle differences existed between the two groups, which may reflect cultural beliefs and barriers to care during midlife.

Effectiveness of a perimenopausal health education intervention for mid-life women in northern Taiwan (#MS03-21-LW)

The purpose of this quasi-experimental research was to assess the effectiveness of a perimenopausal health education intervention for mid-life women in northern Taiwan. The health education intervention included a health education brochure, one-on-one teaching. One hundred seventy-nine women were in the intervention group and 174 women were in the control group. Education effectiveness was assessed by participants’ scores on four questionnaires at the beginning of the study and 3 months after initial recruitment. Both groups of women were compared on changes in their scores on health knowledge, level of perceived uncertainty, health behaviors and perceived perimenopausal disturbances. The intervention group had significantly reduced scores on perimenopausal disturbances ( P<0.005) and reported increase practice of healthy behaviors ( P<0.001) compared to the control group. However, a significant decrease of perceived uncertainty was only found in the subgroup of women recruited from the Chinese medicine clinic of the control group ( t=2.22; d.f.=58; P<0.05). Chinese medicine physicians assess patients based on a philosophical approach that treats all symptoms holistically. This may have helped reduce patient uncertainty.

Relieving discomforts: the help-seeking experiences of Chinese perimenopausal women in Taiwan.

Although studies show that women view perimenopause as a natural process, few studies explore the experiences of Taiwanese mid-life women who visit clinics for perimenopausal health problems. Research is required to understand the patterns and explanations for the women's behaviours in the process of seeking medical help. Such understanding will help guide teaching and care-giving approaches. To generate a descriptive theoretical framework about the experiences of women who visited traditional Chinese and Western medicine clinics in Taiwan to seek medical help for perimenopausal symptoms. A grounded theory research design was used. Thirty Taiwanese women, aged 48-55 years, participated in two face-to-face audio-taped interviews. Trained staff nurses conducted the interviews. Data collection, coding of interviews and field notes, and data analysis occurred simultaneously. Relieving the discomforts' was the core theme for describing and guiding the process of seeking medical help during the perimenopausal period. During the process, 'Feeling the discomforts' was identified as the antecedent condition. Analyses showed five dimensions to the women's help-seeking behaviours: (1) searching for medical help, (2) taking medicine, (3) reassurance of health, (4) desiring to be understood, and (5) emotional swings. Women in this study expected to relieve their perimenopausal discomforts by finding treatment to match their body constitution. They hoped to find a caring and understanding doctor or staff member who would carefully explain health-related issues to them. Health care providers need to consider women's individual health values and, based on these values, use different approaches to treat and teach women with perimenopausal symptoms and concerns.