Development and evaluation of an early menopause question prompt list.

OBJECTIVE

A question prompt list (QPL)-a structured list of questions-assists women in acquiring relevant information and facilitates communication with healthcare providers (HPs). This study aims to co-develop an early menopause (EM) QPL and assess its acceptability and feasibility.

METHODS

This three-phase study consisted of a survey to inform QPL development, interviews to explore acceptability, and clinical pilot-testing to assess feasibility. Participants included: 263 survey respondents with EM, 18 women interviewed, and 11 women and 6 HPs in pilot-testing. Main outcome measures were: survey-perceptions regarding communication with HPs, likeliness to use a QPL and QPL topics; interviews-QPL user-friendliness and acceptability; pilot study-women's QPL use, perceived helpfulness and future use, and HPs' perceived acceptability. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, logistic regression, and thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Women's perceived communication difficulties most commonly related to sexual function (50.6%), vaginal/urinary symptoms (43%), and psychological effects (41.1%). Most women (67.3%) indicated they were very likely to use an EM QPL. EM symptoms, effects, and management were considered very important/essential QPL topics (>80%). Interviewed women perceived the QPL as comprehensive, user-friendly, informative, and empowering. Most pilot study women asked 1 to 2 questions (73%), perceived the QPL as helpful (100%), and would use it again (81.8%). HPs reported that the QPL helped patients to ask questions and initiate discussion about important and sensitive issues.

CONCLUSIONS

Women with EM have unmet information and communication needs, and are supportive of a comprehensive EM QPL. The EM QPL was perceived as an acceptable and feasible resource for women to use during medical consultations. : Video Summary:http://links.lww.com/MENO/A484.