About the project
This is a PhD-project with an issue that emerged in the doctor’s office, and which is relevant in society's debate about menopause. The project group has its position in primary medicine, with extended expertise from the National Center for Women’s Health Research.
Project title:
Information about the menopause - the woman's needs and the role of the general practitioner
The study is designed as a mixed-methods project with three data collections. The first sub-study is a cross-sectional study in which we use questionnaires and ask women about their information needs. Sub-study two and three are qualitative, with interviews of menopausal women in sub-study two and focus group interviews with general practitioners in sub-study three.
Objectives
The project aims to map whether women in Norway today need information about menopause, how an eventual need can be met and the general practitioner’s role in this. There is a desire to find new knowledge that can contribute to improving care around menopause.
Outcomes
Data for the first sub-study have been collected. We have received 825 questionnaires and have started the analyses.
Background
Menopause is a period that may affect women’s quality of life. Her experience is influenced by her symptoms, her attitudes and knowledge about this period and the help she receives if she consults a doctor. In our society, there is no organized dissemination of information related to menopause. No one prepares women for the symptoms with their variations, and coping strategies. The woman must update herself if needed. Many women do not receive information about menopause until they eventually seek help if they experience symptoms.
Previous studies have shown that prior knowledge can provide less uncertainty, a better understanding of the changes that take place, and can influence her attitude towards and experience of menopause.
There is a lack of knowledge about what information women want, how, when, and why they want it. We do not know how women in Norway today acquire knowledge about the menopause and whether they find information that helps them. What role the woman feels the general practitioner has and should have, and what role the doctor takes towards the woman in menopause is also unknown.
Sub-projects
The doctoral project is a mixed-method project with three data collections.
Sub-project 1: What information do women need about menopause? A quantitative study with a questionnaire for women aged 30-60, which is distributed in the waiting room of medical centers throughout South-Eastern Norway. We ask whether the women have/had a desire for information about the menopause, through which source and when, and focus on the role of the general practitioner in this.
Sub-project 2: Deep dive into the knowledge needs and coping strategies of the menopausal woman. A qualitative study with in-depth interviews of menopausal women. Focus on what information she had in advance, whether there was anything she wished she had known before this period and how she thinks she could have received better help for a possible information need.
Sub-project 3: The general practitioner's view of their role in providing information to women during menopause. A qualitative study with focus group interviews of general practitioners in Norway, where the doctors can share their experiences and approaches to providing information to women during and possibly before menopause.
Financing
The project is funded by AMFF (The Norwegian Research Fund for General Practice).
Project start and finish
August 2022 - June 2027