Development and evaluation of online menopause awareness training for line managers in UK organizations

Hardy, Claire; Griffiths, Amanda; Hunter, Myra S.

Abstract

Objectives

To develop and evaluate a 30-min online training for managers, in order to improve menopause-related knowledge, attitudes and confidence in having supportive discussions with women experiencing menopausal symptoms at work. The study also explored intentions and behaviour in terms of having conversations.

Study design

A prospective, pre-post design involved collecting data at three time points: pre-training, immediately after training, and four weeks post-training. Three UK organizations (one public, two private sector) participated. On-line questionnaires collected sociodemographic and background data. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation data were collected in post-intervention questionnaires. Paired t-tests and McNemar tests examined statistical differences pre- and post-training; thematic content analysis was performed on qualitative data.

Main outcome measures

Menopause knowledge, attitudes and confidence in talking about the menopause at work, intentions, and actual behaviour.

Results

270 staff were invited and 98 consented to participate; 62 and 61 provided data immediately and 4 weeks post training, respectively. Compared to pre-training scores, statistically significant improvements were found in menopause-related knowledge, attitude (not viewing the menopause as an embarrassing topic to talk about at work), confidence in talking about the menopause with staff, and intentions to discuss menopause, at both follow-up assessments. Over 90% of respondents reported that they found the training useful and would recommend it to others.

Conclusions

A brief menopause awareness training may be a feasible and effective way to help managers become more knowledgeable about menopause-related problems and more confident in discussing and exploring solutions with their staff.

Citation

Hardy, C., Griffiths, A., & Hunter, M. S. (2019). Development and evaluation of online menopause awareness training for line managers in UK organizations. Maturitas, 120, 83-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2018.12.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 2, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Dec 4, 2018
• Publication Date: 2019-02
• Deposit Date: Jan 3, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 5, 2019
• Journal: Maturitas
• Print ISSN: 0378-5122
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-4111
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 120
• Pages: 83-89
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2018.12.001
• Keywords: Obstetrics and Gynaecology; General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1442251
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378512218306467
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Development and evaluation of online menopause awareness training for line managers in UK organizations; Journal Title: Maturitas; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2018.12.001; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.