Women's knowledge about menopause, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and interactions with healthcare providers: An exploratory study

This community mail-based survey received responses from 665 women to quest ions in three areas: (1) sources of information about menopause, (2) knowle dge of health risks associated with menopause, and (3) knowledge about horm one replacement therapy (HRT). Women received information from many sources , including healthcare providers, friends, and mothers, but the number one source of information about menopause was women's magazines (76%). Over hal f of women surveyed said they had left healthcare appointments with unanswe red questions about menopause and HRT. Although women seemed to have a basi c understanding of the symptoms of menopause, their knowledge of the long-t erm health risks affected by menopause was poor. For example, women were mu ch more likely (60%) to know that osteoporosis risk increased with menopaus e than to know that heart disease risk increased (30%) despite the much hig her prevalence and severity of heart disease as a health problem of menopau sal women. Many women thought that menopause itself (independent of aging) increased the risk of breast cancer. This finding may help explain the low percentage of women who take HRT for menopause despite proven health benefi ts. It is clear that better education about menopause needs to be accomplis hed regarding the long-term risk associated with menopause and the pros and cons of HRT. Strategies for improving education and interactions with heal thcare providers are suggested.