Women's expectations for system support for a healthy menopausal transition: A pilot study

Abstract

Background

This pilot study contributes to the knowledge on healthy menopause by adopting a person-centric, lifelong approach to support a healthy menopausal transition. It focuses on women's expectations of system support for this transition.

Method

Twenty-two online in-depth interviews were conducted with women of various ages, experiences, and backgrounds in the United Kingdom, ensuring representation across the menopausal transition journey – before, during and after menopause. The interviews explored perceptions and expectations of healthy menopause and the required support. User journey and systems frameworks guided data collection and analysis. The pilot aimed to verify the feasibility of the developed study approach and protocol.

Results

A healthy menopausal transition is seen as preserving essential capacities to maintain normal daily activities despite bodily changes, a crucial aspect of ageing. Participants outlined a journey of awareness, contemplation of lifestyle adjustments, experimentation with new behaviours, and habit formation. These findings underscore the importance of fostering awareness and support for menopausal transition early in life. Participants also stressed the impact of the broader environment across the ageing journey, including education, research, health services, workplace dynamics, built environment, food industry, technology and innovation, media, advertising, and social networks.

Conclusions

This work highlights person-centric perceptions of healthy menopause, complementing existing biology-centred perspectives. By introducing a co-creation approach at the system level, it offers opportunities to define holistic support for the menopausal transition. The findings informed a knowledge exchange and ideation workshop with forty relevant system stakeholders to advance solution co-creation.