University of Liverpool researchers have developed a new toolkit to support healthcare professionals in delivering culturally informed menopause care.
The work is highlighted in a letter published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health, and draws on findings from a Medical Research Council funded research project exploring the lived experiences of menopause among women from Black and Chinese communities in the UK.
Much of the existing evidence on menopause is based on studies of white, middle-class women, meaning the experiences of other groups remain less well understood in both research and clinical practice.
Working with 60 women in North West England, the research team used community-based researchers and creative methods to support participants in discussing their experiences of menopause in ways that reflected their own perspectives, including how cultural beliefs and life experiences can shape how symptoms are understood and described.
These findings informed the development of the Cultural Competency Toolkit for Menopause, which provides guidance on cultural influences on menopause, addressing myths and assumptions, navigating taboos, and supporting trust-based conversations with patients.
The research involved collaboration with Liverpool Women's University Hospital and Royal Holloway, University of London.
Professor Susan Pickard, Director of the Centre for Ageing and the Life Course at the University of Liverpool and Principal Investigator of the project, said: "This toolkit brings together insights from our research to support more inclusive and culturally informed menopause care in practice.
"We hope it will help healthcare professionals have more open and effective conversations with women from minority ethnic communities, particularly where experiences of menopause may differ from what is commonly assumed in clinical settings.
"Ultimately, the aim is to improve understanding and support so that care is more responsive to the needs of different communities."
The research team note that the study is based on a relatively small sample of women from two minority ethnic groups. They aim to build on this work through further research involving a wider range of communities and additional interdisciplinary expertise.
The Cultural Competency Toolkit for Menopause is available now and can be accessed here.
