Study reveals lack of menopause education among American women

Three in five women (60%) say they are entirely self-taught when it comes to menopause knowledge, according to new research.

A new survey of 2,000 American women found many feel they are overly targeted with information about pregnancy and childbirth but feel under-resourced when it comes to perimenopause and menopause.

Additionally, three in four women (74%) agree that there is more information available on pregnancy than there is on perimenopause and menopause.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Doctor’s Best, results showed women were three times more likely to have a lack of knowledge about perimenopause (21%) than pregnancy (7%).

Though women spend more than 30% of their life in a menopausal state, only one in four women (25%) felt informed about perimenopause and less than half (34%) about menopause by their healthcare provider.

It’s no surprise over a fifth of respondents say menopause is an under-discussed topic in women’s health, with 74% of respondents claiming they want to learn more about this topic.

Only 29% of women feel that women's health is discussed enough in the media.
Only half of women (52%) can define perimenopause, with Gen X being the most likely generation to feel confident about their perimenopause knowledge.

"It's apparent from the survey results that women need and want more information and support on what to expect after the key reproductive years," said Katie Lucas, VP of Marketing for Doctor’s Best.

The survey also saw Gen Z (14%) had more awareness of how early perimenopause can start compared to women in generations who are impacted by it or have gone through it (millennials 5%, Gen X 3%, baby boomers 3%, Silent Generation 4%).

Nearly one in four Gen Z women (20%) get health insights from social media, mainly TikTok, compared to older generations.

Interestingly, 48% of women polled can't define perimenopause even though 71% are going through it or have gone through it. Though, there is an opposite effect with menopause, 82% of women polled can define it, though 47% haven't entered this stage of life yet.

When it came to identifying perimenopausal symptoms, respondents were more likely to identify irregular periods (63%), mood changes (62%), hot flashes (61%). However some symptoms were less associated with it, like breast tenderness (28%), dry skin (26%), difficulty concentrating (24%).

Natural remedies and lifestyle changes were among the top three ways women want to know how to cope with perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms.

“It’s encouraging to see that younger generations are becoming increasingly proactive and interested in gaining awareness around perimenopause and menopause,” said Gale Bensussen, CEO of Doctor’s Best. “We need to equip every generation with resources to help them navigate these important life transitions.”

Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 women; the survey was commissioned by Doctor’s Best and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Sept. 18 and Sept. 23, 2024.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:
● Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
● Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in
Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:
● Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
● Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
● Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
● Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once
It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.