Document Type
Poster Presentation
Start Date
19-4-2019 9:15 AM
End Date
19-4-2019 10:30 AM
Keywords
menopause, women, healthcare
Biography
Hello, my name is Kasey Rhodes. I am a senior Exercise Science major with minors in Psychology and Computer Information Technology at Marshall. Marshall has been my home away from home for three and half years now. Being from Charleston, it is the perfect distance so that I am able to live my own life but also visit my family and cat very conveniently. I chose this topic because it is something I feel is not talked about as openly as it should be since it happens naturally to all women. I watched my mom silently struggle with Menopause for a long time and I wish there would have been something I could do to ease her symptoms.
Major
Exercise Science
Advisor for this project
Dawn Goel
Abstract
Menopausal healthcare in today’s society is severely lacking because it is seen as less profitable than other reproductive healthcare areas (Wolff, 2018). A majority of the focus is on birth control or prenatal care, but towards the end of a woman’s life her problems may worsen while coverage lessens (Owens, 2008). Menopause occurs at the ages 45-65 in most women, leaving a third of their lives postmenopausal (Sum & Tak, 2014). Women are likely to spend double the amount on healthcare than men of the same age, but only about one-third felt they received quality menopause information by physicians. (Owens, 2008). According to the North American Menopause Society, many physicians are not up to date on information regarding menopause or the available treatments (Wolff, 2018). One of the more effective symptom-management options is hormone replacement therapy but it is still very controversial. With long term use of hormones, women may subject themselves to other risk factors such as breast cancer, stroke, and blood clots (Menopause, 2016). Preventative care could lead to a reduction in cost for treatment, but many women may not know of the available options (Owens, 2008). The objective of the project is to inform those of the many risks associated with menopause and shed light on the lack of knowledge in the healthcare world. Overall, more needs to be done to ensure proper care of the aging female population by both physicians and healthcare providers.
Lack of Menopause Healthcare in the Aging Female Population
Menopausal healthcare in today’s society is severely lacking because it is seen as less profitable than other reproductive healthcare areas (Wolff, 2018). A majority of the focus is on birth control or prenatal care, but towards the end of a woman’s life her problems may worsen while coverage lessens (Owens, 2008). Menopause occurs at the ages 45-65 in most women, leaving a third of their lives postmenopausal (Sum & Tak, 2014). Women are likely to spend double the amount on healthcare than men of the same age, but only about one-third felt they received quality menopause information by physicians. (Owens, 2008). According to the North American Menopause Society, many physicians are not up to date on information regarding menopause or the available treatments (Wolff, 2018). One of the more effective symptom-management options is hormone replacement therapy but it is still very controversial. With long term use of hormones, women may subject themselves to other risk factors such as breast cancer, stroke, and blood clots (Menopause, 2016). Preventative care could lead to a reduction in cost for treatment, but many women may not know of the available options (Owens, 2008). The objective of the project is to inform those of the many risks associated with menopause and shed light on the lack of knowledge in the healthcare world. Overall, more needs to be done to ensure proper care of the aging female population by both physicians and healthcare providers.
