The unmet needs of menopausal women in primary care.
Journal
The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
ISSN: 1478-5242
Titre abrégé: Br J Gen Pract
Pays: England
ID NLM: 9005323
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
20 Jun 2024
20 Jun 2024
Historique:
medline:
21
6
2024
pubmed:
21
6
2024
entrez:
20
6
2024
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
The average age for menopause is 51 years, this is preceded by a transitional perimenopausal stage, with vasomotor symptoms, muscular and joint pain, lowered libido and disordered sleep, impacting on mental health. In some women, the quality of life is considerably affected. This remains under-reported. There is no national screening service, or specialised clinics for menopausal services available in primary care. We undertook a survey of women in primary care as part of a needs assessment to understand the prevalence of peri- and menopausal symptoms, women's knowledge of these symptoms, and available treatment options. A questionnaire was sent to women aged 45-65 years registered with the practice. Of a total of 73 women, 78.1% complained of >4 symptoms. The most common symptoms were memory problems and brain fog (80.6%), sleep disturbance (72.1%) and muscle/joint pain (72.1%). Women were asked to rate their knowledge of therapy options on a self-reported scale of 0-10; a high proportion (64.3%) rated <4 points. They had better knowledge of symptoms, 79.3% rated >4 points. A high proportion (58.9%) rated inadequate support received from primary care and 75.3% felt they had no support at all. Our results of this preliminary study showed the vast majority of women were unaware of treatment options for their menopausal symptoms and felt they received inadequate to no support from primary care providers. The present ongoing study highlights lack of resource allocation to women's health and insufficient commissioning of services to address this health need.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
The average age for menopause is 51 years, this is preceded by a transitional perimenopausal stage, with vasomotor symptoms, muscular and joint pain, lowered libido and disordered sleep, impacting on mental health. In some women, the quality of life is considerably affected. This remains under-reported. There is no national screening service, or specialised clinics for menopausal services available in primary care.
AIM
OBJECTIVE
We undertook a survey of women in primary care as part of a needs assessment to understand the prevalence of peri- and menopausal symptoms, women's knowledge of these symptoms, and available treatment options.
METHOD
METHODS
A questionnaire was sent to women aged 45-65 years registered with the practice.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Of a total of 73 women, 78.1% complained of >4 symptoms. The most common symptoms were memory problems and brain fog (80.6%), sleep disturbance (72.1%) and muscle/joint pain (72.1%). Women were asked to rate their knowledge of therapy options on a self-reported scale of 0-10; a high proportion (64.3%) rated <4 points. They had better knowledge of symptoms, 79.3% rated >4 points. A high proportion (58.9%) rated inadequate support received from primary care and 75.3% felt they had no support at all.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
Our results of this preliminary study showed the vast majority of women were unaware of treatment options for their menopausal symptoms and felt they received inadequate to no support from primary care providers. The present ongoing study highlights lack of resource allocation to women's health and insufficient commissioning of services to address this health need.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38902062
pii: 74/suppl_1/bjgp24X737949
doi: 10.3399/bjgp24X737949
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Informations de copyright
© British Journal of General Practice 2024.