We are looking to recruit women who are peri- or postmenopausal to complete a questionnaire that asks about general health, attitudes to life and attitudes to and experience of the menopause.
The field of investigation concerns the psychology of the menopause which has not been extensively researched from a psycho-social perspective (the relevant articles can be found at the following links: Article 1, Article 2, Article 3). Specifically, we are comparing treatment-seeking women with women who do not seek treatment during the menopause transition.
GP surgeries in the Cambridge and Nottingham areas are participating in the survey by putting up posters and postcards that advertise for female volunteers aged between 40 and 60 years of age. These cities have been selected because they are demographically different and will help us to ensure that we interview women from a range of different backgrounds.
We are not asking for any time from GPs but appreciate any help in identifying suitable participants. The questionnaire is available on-line (click here to go to the questionnaire) and there is also a paper version. The paper version can be left in the surgery to be taken away by participants.
The results will be written up as part of a PhD thesis and published in journals. The principal investigator is Helena Rubinstein, a mature doctoral student in the Department of Social & Developmental Psychology at The University of Cambridge. She will be happy to provide GPs with feedback and results once the data has been collected and analysed. If you are in a surgery which has a particular interest in the menopause, please feel free to contact Helena with any information, comments or concerns.
Helena can be contacted at hr272@cam.ac.uk.
The study has been reviewed by, and received ethics clearance through the Cambridge Psychology Research Ethics Committee.