Menopause and healthy aging: a pilot project

Abstract: Twenty-three women drawn from a culturally diverse community participated in a pilot health promotion project on menopause and healthy aging The participants offered information about their usual information sources, menopausal experiences and health promotional practices. Their comments suggest that mid-aged women are frustrated by the lack of accurate and up-to-date information available to them, many found that their concerns about menopause were trivialised by their medical practitioners, most did not practice breast self-examination or have regular Pap smears, and some voiced concerns about the accessibility and affordability of appropriate health care. For some women, common medical therapies did not appear to control the symptoms they attributed to menopause. They expressed a desire to be active in health promotion and wanted to be more involved in the decision making process when consulting health care professionals. Suggestions for improving the quality of health promotion programs include the development of peer support groups and professional partnerships aimed at meeting the education, information and support needs of aging women.