The need to do better - Are we still letting our patients down and at what cost?

OBJECTIVE: To survey women's views on HRT and alternative therapies and make comparisons with 2007 data. STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire on a UK patient-tailored independent clinician-led website with anonymous responses analysed using descriptive statistics. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Answers to survey questions in 2007 and 2014. RESULTS: A total of 1476 responses from 33 countries were obtained. Almost 70% of respondents had used/would consider using HRT. Over the last 5 years, 27.7% felt that their views had changed for the better. Most obtained information from health professionals or the Internet. About 51.1% felt that their family doctor did not recognise the importance of the menopause with one-third feeling resistance to being offered HRT. Compared to 2007, significantly more women were aware of the different risks associated with different types of HRT. More women were able to respond positively to the question asking whether or not they felt able to make an informed choice regarding HRT/alternative therapies. CONCLUSIONS: There has been negativity and confusion regarding HRT management since the beginning of the millennium. Our findings suggest that we, as health professionals, continue to let our patients down with poor provision of information, inaccurate or wrong information, or access to the right care. The cost of this is women living with preventable sequelae associated with the menopausal transition with a consequent adverse impact on health and the health economy. The importance of the menopause consultation as part of a life course approach is highlighted as well as the emerging discipline of Health Web Science.

Web-based survey 'Contraception and attitudes to sexual behaviour' completed by women accessing a UK menopause website.

BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY: Sociodemographic trends mean increasing numbers of new relationships in later life. These trends may not only have health consequences for women and health services but also impact on the targeting of sexual health messages. This study aimed to examine attitudes and knowledge surrounding contraception, sexual health and unwanted pregnancy among those accessing the website www.menopausematters.co.uk. A voluntary online survey was completed. RESULTS: Survey was completed by 550 respondents. Three hundred and sixty-six women, 94% of whom self-classified as pre- or perimenopausal, had been sexually active with a male partner in the previous four weeks. Commonest contraceptive methods used by perimenopausal and postmenopausal women were condoms, combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) and male sterilization. Up to 42% of women surveyed were unhappy with their contraception. A total of 27% premenopausal, 32% perimenopausal women and 40% postmenopausal used no contraception. One-third of women were unhappy about this and 19 unplanned pregnancies had occurred. The majority of women were informed regarding COCP use over 35 years, hormone replacement therapy, emergency contraception and ceasing contraception. The majority of women were unaware that more terminations of pregnancy are performed in women over 40 than any other age group per total pregnancies.Almost a third of women were unaware that chlamydia incidence is increasing in older women. Most would use condoms in new relationship. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Women accessing www.menopausematters.co.uk are well informed about contraception and sexual health. The majority of those accessing the site are sexually active, but many use no contraception, or are unhappy with their chosen method, leaving them vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection.

Stopping hormone replacement therapy: were women ill advised?

OBJECTIVE: To survey women who stopped hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after 2002, including those who later restarted. STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire on the UK-based menopause website www.menopausematters.co.uk evaluating how women are influenced by HRT advice. Main outcome measures Answers to questions regarding stopping/restarting HRT in response to the advice in the early 2000s and advice given today. RESULTS: A total of 1100 responses were obtained. Of those who made the decision to stop HRT themselves, 56.4% (n = 425/754) said that they were influenced by the media. In those who would potentially most benefit from HRT, 72.8% (n = 220/302) stopped without medical advice. Overall, women aged under 50 years were significantly more likely to stop HRT themselves than women over 50 (P < 0.001). In women in whom symptoms returned, 37.5% (n = 362/966) said these affected their ability to work, 45.1% (n = 436) had problems with decision-making, 53.6% (n = 518) admitted to relationships being negatively affected and 29.2% (n = 286) said that symptoms affected their social relationships. Overall 46.5% of women (n = 485/1044) would not have stopped HRT given the current understanding of risk. Compared with women over 50, significantly more women under the age of 50 said that they would not have previously stopped their HRT based on their current understanding of risk (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The negative impact of published research and its reporting from the early 2000s are being mitigated by current press coverage. Media reports appear to influence the younger woman more than the older woman. Health professionals and media must learn the lessons from the past.

The effects of urinary incontinence and availability of publically accessible toilets: an online survey.

Previous surveys on www.menopausematters.co.uk and published in this journal show that women are reluctant to seek help for reduced libido, vaginal atrophy and dyspareunia despite adverse effects on health and wellbeing. Additionally, health professionals frequently fail to explore these areas during consultations despite proven treatments being available. Women suffering urinary incontinence (UI) show similar trends in their reticence to seek help and in their health professionals addressing their issues. These issues must be addressed through patient empowerment and direct questioning from health professionals. Well maintained, publically accessible toilets are also an important provision to achieving a holistic approach to UI.

Web-based survey on the effect of digital storytelling on empowering women to seek help for urogenital atrophy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate an online digital story aimed to empower women suffering from urogenital atrophy to seek health professional advice. STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire evaluating a digital story on the UK-based menopause website www.menopausematters.co.uk. Main outcome measure Answers to questions on empowerment. RESULTS: A total of 539 responses were obtained over the 62 weeks that the questionnaire was online. In women who had not previously sought help for urogenital atrophy, 145 were too embarrassed and 105 did not want to bother the health professional. Having watched the video, 73% (n = 105/143) of women who had been too embarrassed to discuss their symptoms with their doctor would now do so and 87% (n = 89/102) of women who had not wanted to bother their doctor would also make an appointment. Ninety-six percent (n = 138/144) of women would be willing to try treatment. Over two-thirds of women favoured webcast information to written information; however, postmenopausal women were less likely than peri- or premenopausal to favour this method of presenting health information. CONCLUSION: Using digital stories for health promotion is a new area for research. Our data provide preliminary evidence that women can feel more empowered to seek help for urogenital atrophy using digital storytelling.

Web-based survey on the effect of menopause on women's libido in a computer-literate population.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to use the internet to survey the effect of menopause on women's experience of libido. STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire incorporating the Brief Profile of Female Sexual Function (B-PFSF) on a UK menopause website. Main outcome measure Questions on reduced libido, distress, level of help sought and treatment. RESULTS: Eighty-four percent of women (n = 2112/2527) felt that an active sex life was important. One thousand and fifty-one perimenopausal and 560 postmenopausal women reported reduced libido causing distress with 23% and 35% discussing this with health professionals. Eighteen percent perimenopausal and 30% postmenopausal women had tried non-testosterone hormone replacement therapy with 34% and 37%, respectively, finding it helpful. Testosterone was deemed useful in some perimenopausal (n = 6/17) and postmenopausal (n = 23/50) women. Twenty-seven percent premenopausal, 38% perimenopausal and 56% postmenopausal women reported vaginal dryness with 78% peri- and 87% postmenopausal women believing it a factor causing reduced libido. Twenty-two percent premenopausal, 28% perimenopausal and 46% postmenopausal women had discussed this with health professionals and 17%, 36% and 55%, respectively, were on treatment. Women in all reproductive epochs completed the B-PFSF (a validated tool for postmenopausal women only). CONCLUSIONS: An active sex life was deemed to be important but many women were not seeking help for menopause-related reduced libido causing distress. For many, vaginal changes contributed to their symptoms. In those seeking advice, treatment was commonly not prescribed. Health professionals must ask appropriate direct questions to all women, especially as part of menopausal assessment. A need for the B-PFSF to be validated in non-postmenopausal women was also indicated.

Women's attitudes to hormone replacement therapy, alternative therapy and sexual health: a web-based survey.

OBJECTIVE: To survey women's views on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), alternative therapies and sexual health using the Internet. Study design and main outcome measures. Three questionnaires were offered on a UK, patient-tailored, independent, clinician-led dedicated menopause website. They covered HRT, alternative therapies and sexual health. The anonymous responses of the users of the website were analysed. RESULTS: There were 1026, 1072 and 1002 responses for the HRT, alternative therapies and sexual health questionnaires, respectively. On the first, 75% of respondents were in favour of HRT; 36% felt media reports of the risks of HRT had been exaggerated and 73% of women did not know enough about HRT to make informed choices. In relation to alternative therapies, 85% of respondents felt they did not know enough to make informed choices, 71% received no advice before starting an alternative therapy and 69% were unaware of possible interactions. Ninety-five per cent would try alternative therapies before HRT in the belief that they were more natural and 68% were prepared to pay more than pound10 a month for such therapies. On the questionnaire on sexual health, 88% of respondents indicated that they believed an active sex life was important. Fifty-three per cent recorded that they experienced dyspareunia, but 51% of women hid their symptoms and 31% made excuses to avoid intercourse; 54% felt their confidence had been adversely affected. Only 20% had discussed their symptoms with health professionals and only 12% were using prescribed treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Online questionnaires are a useful means to obtain data. Our surveys raised several issues, including the observations that the majority of women said they did not know enough about HRT and alternative therapies to make informed choices. There appeared to be many women with vaginal symptoms who had not spoken with a health professional and therefore were untreated.