women's experiences of menopause: a systematic review protocol of qualitative evidence

Review question/objective The objective of this review is to identify the meaningfulness/appropriateness of the best evidence regarding how women experience menopause worldwide. Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include premenopausal and postmenopausal women aged between 40 and 65 years, who are living the transition from the reproductive years, through menopause and beyond. In the case of women who have reached menopause, this research will only include studies whose participants have lived the experience of a natural menopause. Women who have had induced menopause, or with premature menopause will be excluded from the review. Types of intervention(s)/phenomena of interest This review will consider studies that investigate women’s experiences of natural menopause, under the scope of different social and cultural contexts. Types of outcomes This review will consider studies that include the following outcome measures: all aspects related both directly and indirectly to the experience of menopause, as concretely lived by women and according to their own point of view.