[Iranian women's understandings of menopause and cultural scenarios]

ABSTRACT

Women perceive menopause differently. Beside biological changes, women experience menopause based on the cultural scenarios. The qualitative research presented here is about how Iranian women perceive menopause within cultural scenarios. Data was collected during 4 focus group sessions and 6 individual in-depth interviews of women aged 40 years and older. Informants were selected from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The sessions were facilitated by using a semi-structured inventory focus group. Content analysis was adopted using combined free and analytical coding to reduce data, to extract meanings, to categorize domains and to obtain themes. We categorized our findings into four main domains gender role, the changes in socialization, social interactions and supporting resources. Descriptions of the later domain are going to be reported in subsequent manuscript. The women's understandings of menopause are shaped based on the specific cultural scenarios. Menopause recognized as a factor which changes women's life line. Meanings as 'Loosing femininity' and 'changes in women's roles in the community' describe women's gender role, social interactions and changes in the socialization throughout the menopause years. The women's misconceptions, accumulated myths, and ignorance about femininity were evidenced based on narratives. The majority of women raised 'role change' as an important determinant in social interactions. Gender role changes as well as women's socialization patterns have forced women to accept loosing femininity as a reality. Developing comprehensive and culturally sensitive health services to address women's needs in the climacteric years is suggested