Keeping my ways of being

ISBN-13: 9783639094428 / Angielski / Miękka / 2008 / 100 str.

Helene Ekstrm

Opis

To deepen the understanding of menopause and its role in womens lives was the general aim of this thesis. Between 1995 and 2003, all women in two Swedish primary health care districts received a postal questionnaire, when they were 45, 50, 55 or 60. A total of 1681 women responded. Twenty-four women were given research interviews. The effect of menopause on qualit of life (QoL) and number of symptoms were generally small, vasomotor symptoms being the only exception. Older women were more satified in these respects than younger women. Women with experience of hormone therapy (HT) reported lower QoL and more symptoms than women who never used HT.A grounded theory of interviews and open- ended questions revealed that the women dealt with uncertainties during menopause with the process: Keeping my ways of being. In this process the women were perceived as acively involved subjects. The intensity of the process and the use of its three stages: Preserving, Limiting and Reappraising, were considered dependent upon the important Personal calculation process, in which the women used their individual explanatory beliefs and evaluations of need.

O autorze

Helene Ekström has been working as a family doctor since 1985.
In 1995 she started her studies on the menopause which resulted
in a PhD exam in 2005. She is now sharing her time between the
health clinic and the unit for research and development at the
county council of Kronoberg, Sweden.