The unmet needs of menopausal women in primary care

Background The average age for menopause is 51 years, this is preceded by a transitional perimenopausal stage, with vasomotor symptoms, muscular and joint pain, lowered libido and disordered sleep, impacting on mental health. In some women, the quality of life is considerably affected. This remains under-reported. There is no national screening service, or specialised clinics for menopausal services available in primary care. Aim We undertook a survey of women in primary care as part of a needs assessment to understand the prevalence of peri- and menopausal symptoms, women’s knowledge of these symptoms, and available treatment options. Method A questionnaire was sent to women aged 45–65 years registered with the practice. Results Of a total of 73 women, 78.1% complained of >4 symptoms. The most common symptoms were memory problems and brain fog (80.6%), sleep disturbance (72.1%) and muscle/joint pain (72.1%). Women were asked to rate their knowledge of therapy options on a self-reported scale of 0–10; a high proportion (64.3%) rated 4 points. A high proportion (58.9%) rated inadequate support received from primary care and 75.3% felt they had no support at all. Conclusion Our results of this preliminary study showed the vast majority of women were unaware of treatment options for their menopausal symptoms and felt they received inadequate to no support from primary care providers. The present ongoing study highlights lack of resource allocation to women’s health and insufficient commissioning of services to address this health need.