Development of a web-based education/support program for menopausal symptom management

Background: Asian American midlife women rarely seek help for their menopausal symptoms until the symptoms become intolerable, which frequently results in unnecessary burden to these women and subsequent disparities in menopausal symptom management. Thus, it is imperative to provide information and support for Asian American midlife women in menopausal symptom management so that they could go through menopausal transition smoothly and successfully.

Objective/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a Web-based education/support program for menopausal symptom management of Asian American midlife women based on findings from a larger study on midlife women's menopausal symptom experience.

Methods: This was an intervention development study. The information mapping approach by Bartholomew et al. was used to develop the program. Then, through two teleconferences, five experts were asked to evaluate the program. For the expert evaluation, the Cognitive Walkthrough method was used. The teleconferences were audio-recorded and transcribed, and analyzed using the content analysis by Weber. Then, as a group, the research team made decisions on the development of specific areas, and incorporated them into further development of the program.

Results: First, seven determinants were identified based on the previous study. Then, women's attitudes were selected as the focus of the program. Then, only the country of origin, the length of time in the U.S. and the immigration generation among the remaining determinants were considered in the program design. The program included three major components: interactive online message board; interactive online educational sessions; and online resources. Graphic User Interface controls were used, and the presentation styles were tailored to Asian American culture. The Ruby on Rails framework and the Xen hypervisor were used to develop the program.

Discussion/conclusions: Researchers need to make continuous efforts to develop and test Web-based education/support programs for menopausal symptom management of midlife women across the lifespan.