Understanding the challenges of using digital health technologies for menopause information

Objectives

Many women feel underprepared for the menopause and a lack of knowledge can impact on menopause experiences. Digital health technologies (DHT) are a popular way of enabling access to information on women's health topics including menopause and, while studies have suggested a number of positive outcomes from their use, there is limited research on the challenges that women face when using these resources.

Method

Sixteen women who identified as going through the menopause engaged with digital sources of menopause information (websites, podcasts and online groups) over a number of weeks recording their thoughts and experiences before taking part in an in person focus group. A thematic analysis of the data focused on the overarching challenges women faced in using DHTs for menopause information.

Results

Individuals see the benefit in using DHTs for menopause information although a number of key challenges were identified. These were captured in four themes: ‘Information is overwhelming’, ‘the individual nature of menopause’, ‘evaluation of resources is complex’ and ‘digital resources are only part of the picture’. Conflicting information around menopause and the wide range of content creators can exacerbate difficulties in evaluating resources and the individual nature of menopause is not always well represented in digital resources.

Conclusions

Women still need more comprehensive menopause information that incorporates but is not solely digital in nature. Future research should consider how best to support women's evaluation of resources and their lifelong learning about menopause.

Practice implications

Healthcare professionals (HCPs) remain women’s preferred source of information about menopause and should ensure the individual nature of menopause remains at the fore front of discussions. HCPs should be aware of the variety of digital resources available and to signpost such resources appropriately to women.