The APPG on Menopause
Here are the results of our MenoHealth survey to collect evidence for the APPG on menopause. The open-ended questions elicited some heartfelt answers which cannot be summed up in a pie chart, here are just a few.
“Colleague awareness, educating them and help them understand your symptoms and debunk myths that it not just hot sweats!
Every workplace needs to be aware & know the symptoms of menopause, women are going through so much & need as much understanding / help they can get – this affects woman’s mental health as well as body changes – giving employers information so they can direct them to get the support they require.
To have had the opportunity to be given flexi-hours. Instead I was made redundant.
A quicker diagnosis and appropriate treatment rather than doctors insisting that early menopause is a ‘myth’. I was instead repeatedly signed off with stress and depression which absolutely ended my career in my late 30’s.
Easy access to properly private toilets as I suffer with terrible period problems and standard toilet facilities can be a challenge.
Raising the awareness about perimenopause; menopause – what it is, the symptoms, reasonable adjustments. Everyone should know about it including line managers.
There needs to be a major public health campaign, mandatory training for GPS, more funding for research into the menopause, more awareness at well women NHS checks, and definitely some myth busting around HRT – also why the hell isn’t testosterone licensed to prescribe to women? So many things that need to be addressed. Absolutely no awareness or even conversation in the NHS about menopause. Learned all I know from Instagram. What a sad sorry state of affairs.
It is very much a personal and a taboo topic – people feel very uncomfortable talking about it. We need to normalise the conversation.”
More awareness should be made for every female – there is lots more to menopause than hot flushes & sweats. Woman can have symptoms for years & need somewhere to go for help – a clinic specifically for menopause should be available in every area.
Correct & accurate reporting of information in the media; increased and mandatory training for all medical professionals.
There are leaflets around my work place, but nobody reads them. My colleagues joke when I need to open a window for a few minutes. ‘She’s having a flush again,’ it really isn’t funny.
We need more local support groups and more tailored exercise and diet classes.
The overriding theme that came through loud and clear is that there needs to be more understanding, from everyone, at home, in the workplace and especially from GPs.
Here the survey results from 363 respondents:
To download our full report, click here.