Toward Solving the Menopause Data Gap: An Evidence-Based Standardized Mapping Study Using the Omaha System

Menopause is a significant health event that affects a large portion of the global female population, necessitating greater awareness and research to enhance women's health and quality of life during this stage. The purpose of this study was to identify validated menopause symptom checklists and map those to the Omaha System signs/symptoms terms. The authors used a consensus approach to identify menopause symptoms from six evidence-based checklists and map them to Omaha System signs and symptoms. The team mapped each symptom if it matched exactly (full match) with the Omaha System term or had a similar, although not identical, meaning (partial match). The mapping included more than 293 source text menopause symptoms to the Omaha System problems and signs/symptoms resulting in a standardized list of 72 signs/symptoms for 21 problems. Of these 72, 70 (97.2%) signs/symptoms were a full match at the problem level, and 67 (93.1%) signs/symptoms were a full or partial match at the signs/symptoms level. This study lays the groundwork for creating a more standardized, data-driven approach, for tracking menopause symptoms. Clinicians and researchers can use this checklist to assess, track, and evaluate symptoms, enabling the development of personalized treatment approaches for menopause.