ARTICLES

Approximately 1.2 billion women worldwide will be menopausal by 2030.2  A woman’s experience with menopause is complex; it is shaped by various biological, cultural, ethical, social, psychological, situational, and behavioral factors.6  Physicians must consider these aspects during their interactions with menopausal patients to improve women’s health outcomes and quality of life.  Effective peri- and postmenopausal…

When symptomatic, menopause can have a profound impact on multiple aspects of a woman’s life, including work3, family life, and sex life4, among others. Adherence to treatments for menopausal syndrome and other diseases during the peri- and post-menopausal period is crucial to women’s health outcomes.11-14 Menopause syndrome can impact quality of life All women experience…

Behavioral science indicates that people make decisions, including medication adherence decisions, using two systems of thinking: System 1, which is rapid but intuitive and biased, and System 2, which is rational and reflective but complex. Humans tend to favor System 1 thinking. Understanding the human decision-making process allows for a better understanding of menopausal women.…

The human mind has evolved to make decisions and draw the most plausible conclusions regardless of the quality of the available information. The decision-making process is influenced by heuristics, or cognitive shortcuts, that can have a significant effect on adherence when relevant information is limited. Understanding heuristics can significantly help us to understand patients’ adherence…

The Patient Activation Measure (PAM) and Medication Adherence Questionnaire (MAQ) are tools that providers can use to evaluate patients’ health behavior. The PAM can be used to evaluate patients’ ability to manage their health and conditions; the MAQ can be used to evaluate patients’ level of adherence to their prescribed therapies. Providers can use the…

Interventions designed to improve therapy adherence are often designed without any understanding of what drives patient behavior; as a result, they are only moderately effective.  The Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) framework is a useful model for understanding and characterizing adherence behavior.  The BCW highlights the importance of addressing patients’ specific concerns regarding their menopause therapy. …