"Menopause Experiences in Cultural and Intercultural Contexts" (VIMEC-IC)

"Menopause Experiences in Intercultural Contexts and Healthcare Professionals: A Mixed- Methods Study Protocol in Community Settings"

The climacteric period involves physical, hormonal, and emotional changes that can impact a woman's quality of life. This mixed-methods study aims to explore the perceptions and experiences of women during menopause and the influence of cultural ethnicity on their quality of life in Primary Care centers in Tarragona. The research includes a quantitative phase to assess healthcare professionals' knowledge via electronic surveys and a qualitative phase using individual interviews with women from diverse backgrounds. The goal is to identify specific needs to adapt community nursing interventions and improve health promotion and equity during the climacteric stage.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study employs a mixed-methods approach to provide a comprehensive understanding of the climacteric process in the health area of Tarragona. The research is divided into two distinct but complementary phases:

  1. Quantitative Phase (Cross-sectional Descriptive Study):

    The objective is to evaluate the level of knowledge and the attitudes of healthcare professionals (nurses and physicians) regarding menopause management.

    Data Collection: An ad hoc questionnaire will be distributed electronically through the corporate email systems of the Primary Care centers (ICS).

    Variables: Sociodemographic data, professional profile, and specific knowledge scores on menopause, Mediterranean diet, and physical activity recommendations.

    Analysis: Descriptive and inferential statistics will be performed using IBM SPSS Statistics.

  2. Qualitative Phase (Phenomenological Approach):

The objective is to explore the lived experiences, perceptions, and cultural influences of women in the climacteric stage.

Data Collection: Semi-structured individual interviews will be conducted with women from diverse sociocultural and ethnic backgrounds to ensure maximum variation.

Sampling: Purposeful sampling will be used until data saturation is reached.

Analysis: All interviews will be transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis with the support of Atlas.ti software.

Ethics and Integration:

The study follows the Declaration of Helsinki and has been approved by the Ethics Committee (IDIAP Jordi Gol). Data from both phases will be integrated to identify specific gaps in clinical practice and the real-world needs of women, aiming to design better community nursing interventions.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

25

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

      • Tarragona, Spain
        • Recruiting
        • Institut Català de la Salut (ICS) - Camp de Tarragona.
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Rocío Legaz Pagán, RN, BcS, PhD Student
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Marina Gómez de Quero Cordoba, RN, MSN, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Rosa Raventós Torner, RN, MSN, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Cristina Rey Reñones, RN, MSN, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population consists of two main groups located in the Tarragona healthcare area:

Healthcare Professionals: Nurses and physicians working in Primary Care centers (Institut Català de la Salut) who provide care to women during the climacteric stage.

Women in the Climacteric Stage: Women aged 40 to 65 years from diverse sociocultural and ethnic backgrounds who are users of the Primary Care centers in the same geographical area.

The sample will be drawn from urban and rural health centers to ensure a representative professional perspective and a diverse range of lived experiences from the women interviewed.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

For professionals:

  • Healthcare professional aged 18 years or older.
  • Currently working in the Primary Care setting.
  • Provide care or work with women in the climateric stage.
  • Agreement to participate and completion of the anonymous survey after providing informed consent.

For Women (Qualitative Phase):

  • Women aged 40 to 65 years.
  • Currently in the climacteric stage (perimenopause or postmenopause).
  • Belonging to diverse sociocultural or ethnic backgrounds.
  • Ability to communicate and provide informed consent for the individual interview.

Exclusion Criteria:

For porfessionals:

*Refusal to participate in the study or incomplete electronic survey.

For Women (Qualitative Phase):

  • Inability to understand the study's language (Spanish or Catalan).
  • Cognitive impairment that prevents the participant from providing informed consent or participating in the interview/survey.
  • Refusal to participate in the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Healthcare Professionals
Primary care nurses and physicians working in the health centers of Tarragona (ICS). This group will participate in the quantitative phase by completing an online survey about their knowledge and attitudes toward menopause.

For Professionals: An electronic questionnaire to assess knowledge and attitudes toward menopause.

For Women: A qualitative semi-structured interview to explore their perceptions and lived experiences during the climacteric stage.

Women in Climacteric Stage
Women aged between 40 and 65 years from diverse sociocultural and ethnic backgrounds. This group will participate in the qualitative phase through individual semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences and quality of life.

For Professionals: An electronic questionnaire to assess knowledge and attitudes toward menopause.

For Women: A qualitative semi-structured interview to explore their perceptions and lived experiences during the climacteric stage.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Perceptions and Lived Experiences of Women in the Climacteric Stage.
Time Frame: Baseline.
Exploration of the subjective experiences, cultural influences, and quality of life through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews.
Baseline.
Level of Knowledge and Attitudes of Healthcare Professionals Regarding Menopause.
Time Frame: Baseline at the time of survey completion.
Evaluation of knowledge scores and professional attitudes towards menopause management through an ad hoc electronic questionnaire. The questionnaire provides a total score ranging from 0 to10, where 0 indicates the lowest level of knowledge and poorest attitude, and 10 indicates the highest level of knowledge and most positive attitude towards menopause management.
Baseline at the time of survey completion.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Rosa Raventós Torner, RN, MSN, PhD, Universidad Rovira i Virgili
  • Study Director: Cristina Rey Reñones, RN, MSN, PhD, Universidad Rovira Y Virgili
  • Principal Investigator: Rocío Legaz Pagán, PhD Student, RN, MSc, Universidad Rovira Y Virgili
  • Study Director: Marina Gómez de Quero Cordoba, RN, MSN, PhD, Universidad Rovira Y Virgili

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 27, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 22, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 22, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 29, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 12, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 12, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 24/165-P
  • 7722 (Other Identifier: PhD Program Student ID URV)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

"Individual participant data will not be shared to protect the confidentiality and anonymity of the participants, in accordance with the informed consent and Spanish data protection laws (LOPDGDD 3/2018)."

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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