Abstract:
This study examined women’s information behaviour and decision-making during the
menopause transition. The findings were compared with expectations from McKenzie’s
Model of Information Practices in Everyday Life Information Seeking (developed from a
study of twin-pregnancy). Methods: There were two strands to the study: 1) An
evaluation of the service provided by a community menopause clinic. For this strand 199
patients registered at the clinic completed questionnaires (response rate 92.1%) giving
their views about the clinic and data about their information practices relating to the
menopause. Six GPs based locally to the clinic were interviewed by telephone. 2) Thirtyfive
telephone/face-to-face interviews were carried out with midlife women to investigate
their information behaviour relating to the menopause. Analysis: Descriptive statistics
were used for the questionnaire, the interview transcripts were analysed qualitatively
using NVIVO software. Findings: The menopause can be a challenging time and finding
advice/information that is tailored to a woman’s individual set of circumstances can be
challenging in itself. Women particularly value other women’s ‘menopause stories’
which provide validation and context for their own experiences. Testing the McKenzie
model in a different, yet related, context demonstrated that it is robust and flexible
enough to permit adaptation. However it did not provide sufficient scope for the fluidity
of information practices in the complex context of the menopause in which women often
engage in mutual exchanges of support and may themselves take on the role of ‘expert’.
Conclusions: This study looked beyond information-seeking to how women use
information to inform their decisions. The process of testing the McKenzie model
contributes to theory development. Further testing in different contexts would support the
development of a more generic model and could contribute to a discussion of whether
gender can justifiably be considered as a variable in information behaviour.
