Perceptions, relationships, societal contexts, and previous decisions influenced women's decisions about hormone replacement therapy
Question How do menopausal women make decisions about whether to start, stop, or continue hormone replacement therapy (HRT)?
Design
Focus groups.
Setting
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Participants
56 postmenopausal women (44–73 y) who responded to a poster or newspaper advertisement. Most were white, worked full time or part time (57%), and had university or postgraduate degrees (50%). Women with medical conditions that contraindicated HRT (eg, breast cancer) were excluded.
Methods
Women were assigned to 1 of 8 focus groups based on HRT status (2 groups of women who had never used HRT, 2 groups who had started and stopped HRT, 1 group who had been using HRT for ≥1 y, and 3 mixed groups). A family physician and a psychologist facilitated the groups. Each 2 hour session was observed by ≥1 of the authors, audiotaped, and transcribed verbatim. Analysis was concurrent with data collection.
Main findings
Women's decisions about HRT were …
