The Effect of Value Clarification Based on Meleis's Transition Theory on Menopausal Symptoms, Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Quality of Life in Perimenopausal Women

May 6, 2026 updated by: Neslihan KAZAK SALTAN, Ordu University

Menopause is a life stage influenced not only by hormonal factors but also by psychological, social, and cultural factors. Symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep problems, and mood changes may occur, and their severity depends on how a woman perceives and copes with this period.

The study aims to examine the effects of the "Value Clarification" method based on Meleis Transition Theory on menopausal symptoms, depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life in women during menopause.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Menopause is a unique life event in a woman's life, influenced not only by physiological or hormonal factors, but also by cultural, psychological, and social factors. These changes that occur in a woman's life during menopause affect her quality of life, life satisfaction, and happiness.

Menopause is associated with vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats, musculoskeletal problems, sleep disturbances, urogenital changes, dyspareunia, sexual dysfunction, and mood swings. The number, severity, and impact of these symptoms on a woman's life depend on how she copes with this special period. A woman's perspective on the process is influenced by many factors. Being prepared for this period, not viewing it as the end of womanhood, and being aware of her own worth will reduce the degree to which she is negatively affected by menopause. Studies show that women who develop a positive attitude towards menopause experience milder symptoms. It can be said that there are limitations in the current system of care for the menopausal process in terms of changing the lack of information and negative perspectives on menopause.

In this context, this study aimed to examine the effects of Value Clarification, based on Meleis Transition Theory, on perimenopausal women's menopausal symptoms, depression, anxiety, stress levels, and menopause-specific quality of life.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

88

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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 Locations

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

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women who agree to participate in the study,
  • Have at least a primary school education,
  • Understand, read, and write Turkish,
  • Have no communication barriers,
  • Are between 45-55 years of age,
  • Have started experiencing menstrual cycle irregularities or have not menstruated,
  • Have experienced at least one menopausal symptom in the last 6 months (hot flashes, irritability, sleep problems, urogenital complaints, etc.),
  • Are in the perimenopausal period according to the Straw Classification of Reproductive Aging in Women criteria,
  • Women who have entered menopause naturally will be included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Women who:
  • Use any complementary or alternative treatment methods (such as Reiki, phytoestrogens, acupressure),
  • Use hypnotic or sedative medications,
  • Have a diagnosed psychiatric illness,
  • Have a gynecological problem causing menstrual irregularities,
  • Have entered menopause as a result of any surgical operation such as a hysterectomy,
  • Are receiving hormone replacement therapy will be excluded from 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

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Intervention group: Value clarification group
The value clarification exercise will be administered to the intervention group once a month for three months. The results at the third and sixth months will be evaluated using scales.
Other: value clarification
The intervention group will be given written clarification of values. After the pre-test, clarification will be applied once a month for 3 months, and the scales will be completed in the 3rd and 6th months.
Active Comparator: Control group: No intervention will be applied.
The control group will not receive the scales, but will be administered in parallel as a pre-test, at 3 months, and at 6 months.
Other: control group
The scales will be administered to the control group in parallel on the same dates.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in menopausal symptoms measured by the Menopausal Symptom Assessment Scale
Time Frame: 0-6 month
The value explanation method based on transition theory improves menopausal symptoms in women when applied to perimenopausal women. The Menopausal Symptom Assessment Scale was developed to measure the severity of menopausal symptoms. The scale, adapted into Turkish, consists of 11 items and 3 sub-dimensions. These sub-dimensions are somatic complaints (items 1, 2, 3, and 11), psychological complaints (items 4, 5, 6, and 7), and urogenital complaints (items 8, 9, and 10). The Likert-type scale, which includes menopausal complaints, uses the options: 0: None, 1: Mild, 2: Moderate, 3: Severe, and 4: Very severe. The total score is calculated from the scores obtained from each item. The lowest possible score is "0," and the highest is "44." An increase in the total score indicates an increase in the severity of complaints and a negative impact on quality of life.
0-6 month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in menopause-specific quality of life measured by the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL)
Time Frame: 0-6 month

Value clarification based on transition theory given to perimenopausal women improves their menopause-specific quality of life.

The scale, originally called the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire, was developed to assess the extent to which menopausal symptoms affect women's quality of life. The Turkish adaptation of is a Likert-type scale containing 29 questions. The scale consists of four sub-dimensions: Vasomotor (questions 1-3), Psychosocial (questions 4-10), Physical (questions 11-26), and Sexual (questions 27-29). Participants rate each symptom on a scale of 0-6, indicating its presence or absence. "NO" indicates the absence of the symptom, "PRESENT" or a score of 0 indicates the presence of the symptom, and a score of 1-6 indicates the severity and increasing degree of the existing problem.
0-6 month
Changes in depression, anxiety, and stress levels that may be caused by mood swings during menopause were measured using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21.
Time Frame: 0-6 month

Depression, anxiety, and stress levels will be assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, a validated self-report questionnaire consisting of 21 items divided into three subscales: depression, anxiety, and stress (7 items each).

Each item is scored on a 4-point Likert scale (0-3), where higher scores indicate greater symptom severity. Subscale scores are calculated by summing the relevant items, with possible scores ranging from 0 to 21 for each subscale.

Severity thresholds are defined as follows:

Depression: ≥14 indicates very severe depression Anxiety: ≥10 indicates very severe anxiety Stress: ≥17 indicates very severe stress
0-6 month

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Ordu University

Investigators

  • Study Director: Nülüfer ERBİL, Prof. Dr., Ordu University

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 (Estimated)

May 4, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 4, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

November 4, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 28, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 6, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 6, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • OrduU-SBF-NKS-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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.

Clinical Trials on Menopausal Women

Clinical Trials on value clarification

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Kenya

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe