Women Past Menopause: Learning from the Voice of Experience

Abstract

Menopause is a private, physiological change event that begins with the body but is greatly influenced by social context. While the current knowledge base about the experience is extensive it is also fragmented and incomplete. The primary focus is on symptoms and the loss of estrogen with women’s direct experience of menopause largely missing from the public discourse. This study proposes a model of menopause that unifies the disparate viewpoints through understanding postmenopausal women’s lived experience. The study design is based on the grounded theory qualitative research methodology of B.G. Glaser and A.L Strauss (1967), Kathy Charmaz (2012, 2014), and Karin Olson (2011). The methods are informed by the feminist theory of Judith Wuest (1995, 2001). A collaborative and creative research setting supported informal conversations with 10 Canadian, postmenoapusal women aged 58 to 78. The women participated in artbased, self-reflection exercises using buttons and a variety of physical objects. Transcribed conversations were analyzed using the grounded theory constant comparison technique. Outcomes include personal narratives, photographs of created art objects, and a proposed model of menopause. The proposed model can be used by women to prepare for and live through the menopausal transition and could be developed into a substantive theory of menopause. The key concept is personal agency and the three main constituent factors: awareness of self worth, strong finances, and good health. Personal agency is key to postmenopausal life satisfaction. Women concerned with maintaining quality of life could focus on strengthening personal agency rather than over focusing on menopausal symptoms.