Menstrual and menopausal health
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Healthwatch Lincolnshire wanted to feed into the development of the women's health strategy and health hub locally. They launched two online surveys: one for service users and the other for professionals. They also held four focus groups for professionals. In total 450 service users and 18 professionals shared their views.
Both service users and professionals raised many of the same issues. According to the data collected, experiences did not appear to differ based on whether the individual was a carer, neurodiverse or which area of the county they lived in.
By far the biggest issues highlighted were not being listened to, not being taken seriously and a lack of interest and knowledge around menstrual health conditions and menopause.
The impact of menstrual and menopausal health is poorly understood and rarely acknowledged. There is also a need for more emotional and wellbeing support for those navigating menopause and/or menstrual health conditions.
Treatment and Management Symptoms were mainly managed via medication. Access to HRT and effective pain relief for endometriosis were highlighted as issues.
Service users also highlighted a need for more holistic support to complement the use of medication. There were calls for more emotional and wellbeing support and information on alternative therapies and lifestyle changes.
For a minority of respondents, the following was highlighted as working well:
- Quick and easy access to appointments (however, this was not the experience for the majority).
- Interested, knowledgeable and supportive professionals.
- Being listened to and referred when needed.
The majority of respondents highlighted the following as needing improvement:
- Listening to service users and taking them seriously.
- Quicker access to diagnostic tests.
- Review the training for healthcare professionals, on menstrual and menopausal health, especially for those in primary care who are the first port of call for many on menstrual and menopausal health issues.
- Information on how to cope with their symptoms and condition(s) while waiting for additional tests.
The findings of this work have already been used to support the development of the Women’s Health Strategy and Health Hub for Lincolnshire.