Patient-identified needs for hormone replacement therapy counseling: a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Menopause management
• Women's health
• Medical counseling

Background:

• Medical organizations recommend counseling for postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
• Current HRT counseling guides often lack integration of patient perspectives.
• Patient-centered approaches are crucial for effective HRT decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify patient-reported needs for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) counseling.
• To inform the development of more comprehensive HRT counseling guidelines.

Main Methods:

• Individual, in-depth patient interviews were conducted.
• A qualitative, consensus review of interview transcripts was performed.
• The study involved 26 women who had received an initial HRT prescription within a managed care setting.

Main Results:

• Women identified an average of 15 critical factors influencing their HRT decisions.
• Physician opinion (96%), media reports (81%), and friends' experiences (77%) were highly influential.
• Existing counseling recommendations do not address these key patient concerns.

Conclusions:

• Many women receiving HRT prescriptions have unmet counseling needs.
• Current widely used HRT guidelines do not incorporate crucial patient perspectives.
• Integrating patient-reported factors into HRT counseling can enhance shared decision-making.