Silver School of Social Work, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.
Soc Work Health Care. 2010;49(1):53-67. doi: 10.1080/00981380902958486.
This article describes menopause symptom attributions among 135 midlife methadone-maintained women between the ages of 40 and 55 years. A cross-sectional survey collected sample characteristics and a 14-item menopause symptom checklist. Following the checklist respondents were questioned regarding perceived symptom causality. For classic menopause symptoms (hot flashes, night sweats, and menstrual irregularities) a majority of women attributed menopause. For remaining symptoms, various attributions were reported or etiologies were unknown. How midlife women interpret their symptoms is important to understand since such appraisals may guide the type of health and treatment behaviors they choose. Education to promote understanding of the actual causes, diagnosis, and treatment of symptoms may encourage midlife women to seek appropriate intervention. Social workers treating midlife women must be aware of and understand the normal variations associated with menopause and the multifactor symptom etiology.
本文描述了 135 名年龄在 40 至 55 岁之间的中年美沙酮维持女性的更年期症状归因。一项横断面调查收集了样本特征和 14 项更年期症状检查表。根据检查表，受访者被询问了感知症状的因果关系。对于典型的更年期症状（热潮红、盗汗和月经不规律），大多数女性认为是更年期。对于其余的症状，报告了各种归因或病因不明。了解中年女性如何解释她们的症状很重要，因为这种评估可能会指导她们选择的健康和治疗行为类型。促进对症状的实际原因、诊断和治疗的理解的教育可能会鼓励中年女性寻求适当的干预。治疗中年女性的社会工作者必须意识到并理解与更年期相关的正常变化以及多因素症状病因。
