Australian Women's Knowledge of Perimenopause and Menopause.
Fiona McDermid, Kate O'Reilly, Sue McInnes and 2 others
PMID 41454496WHAT IT FOUND
Many Australian women knew menopause basics but were unprepared for symptom intensity.
More learned online than from health professionals, and fewer knew cardiovascular risk than osteoporosis risk.
Key findings
01All interview participants were surprised by the intensity and variety of symptoms, regardless of prior knowledge.
02More women recognized increased osteoporosis risk (92.29%) than increased cardiovascular disease risk (66.75%).
03Most women gained knowledge from the internet or social media (52.9%) rather than from a health care professional (30.1%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Participants were recruited through Facebook and Twitter, 73.8% were Australian born, and the sample was largely heteronormative, so the findings may not represent all Australian women. Approximately 14% did not complete all survey items, and only 411 of 480 women completed all questions. Interview participants all spoke fluent English, and 15 were Australian born, so the qualitative findings may not apply to women with limited English or specific culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This was a descriptive mixed-methods study, not a trial of an intervention, so it cannot show what education or support improves outcomes. The concurrent design limited interview numbers and prevented refining survey or interview questions based on emerging findings.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that more education means better menopause knowledge. The study found no significant difference in Menopause Knowledge Scale scores due to education level.