Daly Róise, Hynes Sinéad M
Discipline of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland.
Br J Occup Ther. 2025 May;88(5):272-280. doi: 10.1177/03080226241310032. Epub 2025 Jan 16.
The menopause transition is a significant stage of a woman's life, marking the transition from reproductive to postreproductive life. Occupational identity often shifts in response to life transitions but this has not been explored in relation to menopause. Therefore, our study aims to explore women's experiences of menopause through an occupational perspective, in relation to occupational participation and occupational identity.
A descriptive qualitative design was implemented. Semistructured interviews were completed with five perimenopausal women online via Microsoft teams. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed to analyse data gathered.
The findings of this study revealed that a lack of understanding and awareness during the initial stages of menopause negatively affected women's well-being. Women faced disruptions to their engagement in meaningful occupations, which in turn, impacted their occupational competence and occupational identity. The experience of menopausal-related changes influenced women's sense of self-efficacy in engaging in occupations and roles that aligned with their occupational identity.
Women face significant occupational disruption during the menopause transition. Negative impacts on occupational identity and participation were evident from the participants. This study explores menopausal women's experiences from an occupational perspective and findings offer potential direction for future research.
绝经过渡是女性生命中的一个重要阶段，标志着从生殖期到生殖后期的转变。职业身份通常会随着生活转变而发生变化，但在绝经方面尚未对此进行探讨。因此，我们的研究旨在从职业角度，就职业参与和职业身份，探索女性的绝经经历。
采用描述性定性设计。通过微软团队在线对五名围绝经期女性进行了半结构化访谈。运用反思性主题分析法对收集到的数据进行分析。
本研究结果显示，绝经初期缺乏理解和认识对女性的幸福感产生了负面影响。女性在参与有意义职业方面面临干扰，这反过来又影响了她们的职业能力和职业身份。绝经相关变化的经历影响了女性在从事与其职业身份相符的职业和角色时的自我效能感。
女性在绝经过渡期间面临重大的职业干扰。参与者身上明显体现出对职业身份和参与的负面影响。本研究从职业角度探索了绝经女性的经历，研究结果为未来研究提供了潜在方向。
