Identifying the Educational Needs of Menopausal Women: A Feasibility Study

BackgroundThe goal of this project was to identify the educational needs of menopausal women and test the feasibility of an online self management program based on social learning theory.MethodsThe four stages included 1) a needs assessment using a) focus groups with 24 women ages 40 to 55 and b) phone interviews with eight health experts; 2) the use of concept mapping methodology for quantifying qualitative data from stage 1 to identify the core programmatic concepts; 3) development of a demonstration program; and 4) a pilot study with 35 women and 9 health experts to assess knowledge gained and program satisfaction.ResultsResults show that women desire more information about normalcy of menopause and symptom management and found the program to meet a need for menopausal education otherwise perceived as unavailable. The women significantly increased their menopausal knowledge after brief exposure (t34 = 3.64; p = .001).ConclusionThis project provides support for an online health education program for menopausal women and content ideas for inclusion in women’s health education curriculum.