Lived experiences during the menopausal transition V2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A study of the lived experiences of a woman’s menopausal transition from a male and female perspective
IRAS ID
132231
Contact name
Yvonne Middlewick
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 31 days
Research summary
This qualitative study aims to explore the lived experiences of a woman's menopausal transition from the perspective of the woman experiencing this 'normal' life event and also to explore the experiences and perspectives of partners during this time.
The experiences women and their partner's during the menopausal transition are the focus of this study and women do have some physical needs that are different from their male counterparts (DH 1999; DH 2002; National Mental Health Development Unit 2010). Some of the areas of women's lifecycle needs have been comprehensively researched including perinatal and postnatal care along with some studies exploring how to encourage women to use sexual health services if they engage in high-risk sexual behaviours (Cook 2000; Birch et al. 2006). Other areas of female development such as menarche, menopausal transition and the menopause appear to be rather sparsely researched in relation to experiences of these normal life events unless it is in relation to the use of hormone based treatments. There is very little research about male perceptions of a woman's menopausal transition or the impact that a woman's experience may have on their partner (Hidiroglu et al. 2014).
The lived experiences of the menopause for women and their partners remains largely unstudied (Sajatovic et al. 2003; Hidiroglu et al. 2014). The Women and Gender Equity Network (2007) found that research has been slow to recognise health problems and has overly medicalised normal lifecycle needs. This study will use an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach (Smith et al. 2009) to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of women and their partner's. This will be achieved through twelve semi-structured recorded interviews lasting sixty to ninety minutes.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SC/0084
Date of REC Opinion
11 Mar 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion