Quality of Life of Menopause

Quality of Life of Menopause Women

Over the last several years, the issue of menopause has been increasingly brought to the forefront. Part of the reason for this, is because a growing number of women are beginning to enter the age range for the condition (40 to 59 years old) with this affecting 37.5 million Americans. The reason why this is taking place is because; during this time a woman's body will undergo a significant amount of changes. As, her ovaries will begin to shut down in the production of estrogen and progesterone. This will often lead to adverse consequences that will have impact on the quality of life for many women. Where, it will have an impact on their well-being including: hot flashes, night sweats, sleeping problems, feelings of being stressed / irritable, vaginal changes and a thinning in their bone structure. These different elements are important, because they will have a dramatic effect upon the overall quality of life for women who are going through menopause.

There have been various attempts to address these issues by having women undergo a series of treatment options such as: estrogen progestin therapy. However, select studies have shown that this has become ineffective at dealing with these issues. As a result, a wide variety of women are adversely impacted by the condition and the lingering effects that it can have on their lives. To fully understand the control that menopause can have requires conducting an extensive study on its lasting effects. This will be accomplished by: providing some background information / issuing a statement of the problem, creating a hypothesis, developing research questions / aims / objectives and offering conclusions about how these issues can be effectively dealt with. Once this takes place, it will provide the greatest insights as to how we can be able to objectively determine the underlying impact that menopause is having on women and their quality of life. (Adler, 2002, pp. 26 -- 30) ("Women's Reproductive Health," 2011)

Background and Statement of the Problem

To determine the how menopause is affecting the quality of life in women we will examine a number of different studies on the subject and the impact that treatment options are having. This will be accomplished through conducting a brief literature review and providing a statement of the problem. Once this takes place, we will be able to concentrate on the statement of the problem and how our study can be a part of effectively resolving these different issues.

Literature Review

The research that was conducted by Rosner (2011), found that women who were able to have a hysterectomy were able to have a better quality of life in comparison with others. The reason why, is because this procedure made certain that these women were able to mitigate the adverse effects of menopause due to their increased ability to regulate hormonal levels. This had a positive effect on their underlying levels of health and their quality of life. The information from this source is useful, because it is illustrating how certain procedures such as a hysterectomy were able to control hormone levels in these women. As a result, this is illustrating how this can help to improve their quality of life and ensure that they do not have the adverse effects from the condition. (Rosner, 2011, pp. 450 -- 460)

The article that was written by Nappi (2009), discusses the impact that menopause is having on the sexual activity of women who are suffering from the condition. What they found, that there were several common ailments that were having on effect on them. The most notable include: reduced sexual desire, vaginal dryness, poor arousal / orgasms and reduced sexual satisfaction. These different elements are important, because they are highlighting how there was a negative impact associated with the condition. As a result, this leads to a reduced quality of life. The information from this source is useful, because it is providing a basic foundation as to the way menopause can have an impact on women and their quality of life during this time. (Nappi, 2009, pp. 138 -- 141)

Moreover, the article that was written by Strauss (2011) discusses how a woman's views about the symptoms of menopause are having an impact on her underlying levels of health. As, they found that those women who: were older and maintained a positive outlook; were able to see less of an impact on their underlying levels of health. At the same time, those women who were more pessimistic about these effects were having more adverse symptoms and they reported a reduction in their levels of health. These different elements are important, because they are illustrating how the overall mental attitude was having a dramatic effect upon women and their overall quality of life. As a result, this information is useful because it is highlighting how there are various factors that will have an impact on the way the condition will affect their lives. Where, those individuals who have less negative thoughts will be able to overcome the effects of menopause, which will determine how they feel and their well-being. (Strauss, 2011, pp. 118 -- 124)

Statement of the Problem

Based on these different findings, we have determined that menopause will have an impact on a woman's quality of life and how severe it will affect her. Below is the statement of the problem that we will be examining during the course of this study that is taking place.

One of the biggest factors that will have an impact on the quality of life of women going through menopause is: their attitudes and the kinds of treatment options they are seeing. This will have a positive or negative effect upon their quality of life, because of these two different variables.

Research Question or Hypothesis, Aims and Objectives

In this section we will discuss: the hypothesis, research questions, aims and objectives. This will be accomplished by providing a number of specific insights about how the study will be conducted to include: the study design, the population / sampling, the data collection methods / instruments, the data analysis techniques, mechanisms that will assure the quality of the study and the time frame that it will be conducted. Once this occurs, it will provide us with specific insights about how the research project will take place and the accuracy of the information that is being collected.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis that we are looking to support or refute is:

Women who seek out treatment that have a better state of mind will have less severe effects on their underlying levels of health. This will give them a better quality of life in comparison with those who are going through similar situations, but have a negative outlook on their underlying situation.

Research Questions

To help effectively focus our research we will be concentrating on a number of different questions to include:

What is the total impact of menopause on the quality of life of women?

Does a woman's outlook have an effect on their quality of life as they are going through menopause?

Is treatment effective at helping to improve their quality of life?

Are there more adverse effects on select segments of the population?

Once these different questions have been answered, they will help to support or refute the hypothesis that was presented. As this will, improve the underlying quality of our research.

Aims and Objectives

To focus the study on specific aspects of our research we will outline various aims and objectives. Below are the different goals that we will be concentrating on during the course of this project.

The effects of the mental attitude on women who are suffering from menopause.

The impact of treatment on various demographics of women that are suffering from the condition.

If a particular ethic / racial group or economic class are more susceptible to the condition.

If menopause will have more adverse effects on particular segments of the population.

These different elements are important, because they are highlighting how answering the various research questions along with the aims / objectives will provide specific insights about how this is affecting this segment of the population. Once this takes place, it will help to support or refute the hypothesis that has been presented.

Study Design

The way that this study will be completed is by using quantitative research. This is when we are collecting samples from a targeted population of respondents. In this particular case, we will be seeking out women who are currently being affected by menopause and will want to see the effect that it is having on their quality of life. The way that this will be accomplished is by contacting women from: different social and economic backgrounds at health care clinics as well as hospitals. (Hopkins, 2008)

The basic design of our study will take place by sampling two different groups of women. The independent variable will be women who are sampled randomly that do not have menopause. While the dependent variable, will be those women who are suffering from the condition. Once this takes place, we will be able to determine the underlying impact of menopause on our select population and the kinds of effects it is having on their overall quality of life. (Hopkins, 2008)

Study population and sampling

Like what was stated previously, our research will focus on those women who are suffering from menopause and others that are selected randomly. We will subdivide respondents into various groups based upon: their racial / ethnic group, income status and if they are seeking any kind of treatment. This will help to improve the overall quality of our survey by: focusing on what segments of the population that are having an adverse impact on their underlying levels of mental health. Once this occurs, we will be able to make specific inferences about their how their attitude is affecting their quality of life. At which point, we can support or refute the hypothesis that was presented earlier.

Data collection methods and instruments

The basic data collection methods that will be utilized are conducting an anonymous survey of respondents. The way that this will take place, is by dividing them into two different groups (those who are affected by menopause and women who are not being impacted by the condition). We will survey a total of 5,000 people for the study. At which point, we will ask respondents a series of different questions. Below is sample that will be asked of people who are being affected by menopause and those who are not.

Questions of women being affected by menopause

What racial or ethnic group do you consider yourself to be in?

Are you from a wealthy, middle class or lower income demographic?

Describe the experience of menopause on your quality of life?

Do you think that your mental attitude has been having an impact on the condition and its effects?

Are you seeking any kind of treatment for menopause? What are its effects on your quality of life?

Question for women not are being affected by menopause

What racial or ethnic group do you consider yourself to be in?

Are you from a wealthy, middle class or lower income demographic?

Have you been diagnosed with menopause?

How has your mental attitude had an impact on your overall quality of life?

These different elements are important, because they will help to separate the population sample between: the control group and the independent variable. Once this takes place, it will improve the overall quality of the study and it will allow us to determine how mental attitudes as well as treatments are having an impact on the various respondents that are being surveyed.

Data analysis methods

The data analysis methods that we will be utilizing will concentrate on identifying various groups for the population sample. We will then analyze the findings with one another through what is known as comparative analysis. This is when we are comparing the responses from the control group with the independent variable. Where, we are focusing on identifying the underlying trends and the effects that they are having on the population sample. This will improve the accuracy of our research and it will help us to support refute the hypothesis that has been presented. This is the point that we can determine the underlying effects of mental attitude on women who are suffering from menopause. (Weld, 1987, pg. 46)

Mechanisms to assure the quality of the study

To improve the quality of the study there are number of different tools that will be utilized. The most notable include: having numerous researchers involved in the project, ensuring that all of the various responses are anonymous, using comparative analysis to corroborate the trends / findings with each other and ensuring the safe storage of all data that is collected as a part of study. Having numerous researchers involved in the project is when we are focusing on using a variety of individuals to: conduct the surveys and analyze the findings from respondents. The way that this will help to improve the quality of our research is by allowing us to focus on select segments and the patterns of their responses. At which point, we can compare them with one another. This is the point that the quality of our research will improve by comparing these finding with each other. At the same time, it will ensure that the study remains as objective as possible.