Dr Katie Barber
GP, accredited British Menopause Society Specialist
Irina Spirieva
General Manager, Besins Healthcare UK
While awareness of the impact of menopause has risen in the public health agenda, many women are still encountering obstacles when accessing information and support.
To drive meaningful change in menopause healthcare, it’s crucial to understand the barriers women face in accessing treatment, including whether ethnicity or socioeconomic background plays a part.
Dr Katie Barber explains how obstacles can be overcome to ensure better healthcare for menopausal women.
A qualitative study, ‘Barriers to Accessing Effective Treatment and Support for Menopausal Symptoms’1 — initiated and funded by Besins Healthcare UK, a pharmaceutical company specialising in hormone therapies — explored menopause care today by gathering insights from the voices of 20 women and the views of 40 UK healthcare professionals.
Stigma, embarrassment and a lack of knowledge about the range of menopause symptoms, as well as the belief that this was something they needed to soldier through, were revealed as initial barriers by the women. Previous negative experiences in accessing advice or treatment also discouraged women from seeking help.
GPs play a vital role in helping women
make sense of the diverse range
of menopause symptoms.
Importance of GP education
GPs play a vital role in helping women make sense of the diverse range of menopause symptoms. Yet, our research revealed varying GP attitudes and often a lack of confidence in prescribing HRT, which can hinder effective diagnosis and treatment.
Offering valuable insights for the NHS and its partners, this study shows the importance of updating GP education and providing culturally appropriate, personalised support to improve the healthcare experience for peri-menopausal and menopausal women.
Closing the menopause care gap
The Women’s Health Strategy has made real progress to improve women’s access to health services and enable informed choice. Yet, many barriers remain, which hinder women from getting the effective support and healthcare they need. Besins Healthcare UK is committed to addressing health inequalities in the access and delivery of menopausal care in alignment with the NHS’s commitments and the NHS’s Long-Term Plan.
To help close this information gap, Besins Healthcare UK has launched a suite of multi-language resources to help women have better conversations with their GP and healthcare providers. These are available in Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati and English from LanguageOfMenopause.co.uk.
By expanding knowledge and working together, we can better support women to live healthy, fulfilling lives and continue to contribute to their communities and in the workplace, should they wish to do so.
MAT-BHUK-NP-0301 October 2024
Funded and reviewed by Besins Healthcare UK
[1] Barber K, Charles A. Barriers to Accessing Effective Treatment and Support for Menopausal Symptoms: A Qualitative Study Capturing the Behaviours, Beliefs and Experiences of Key Stakeholders. Patient Preference and Adherence. Paper downloadable free from: https://doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S430203 (Last accessed September 2024).
