Premature Menopause and Self-Concept Disjunctions: A Case for Crisis Management

Primary ovarian insufficiency quality of life scale (POIQOLS): development and psychometric properties

Background

Primary ovarian insufficiency is menopause before the age of 40. It can affect the quality of life of afflicted women. Because there is no instrument available for measuring the quality of life of these women, the present study was carried out to develop and assess the psychometric properties of the quality of life scale for women with primary ovarian insufficiency.

Methods

This exploratory sequential mixed method study was performed in two phases. In the qualitative phase (item generation), semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 women having primary ovarian insufficiency, and a literature review was performed to generate initial items pool. In the quantitative phase (psychometric evaluation), the face, content, and construct validity (exploratory factor analysis), as well as reliability (internal consistency and test–retest methods), were evaluated. Besides, the responsiveness and interpretability were investigated.

Results

During the first phase of the study, the initial item pool was generated with 132 items. After the face and content validity, the number of items was reduced to 40. The results of exploratory factor analysis yielded a 28 item scale with six factors. These factors explained 58.55% of the total variance. The Cronbach’s alpha for each factor was more than 0.7. Furthermore, the intraclass correlation coefficient for the entire scale was 0.95.

Conclusions

The primary ovarian insufficiency quality of life scale (POIQOLS) is a valid and reliable tool for accessing the quality of life of women with primary ovarian insufficiency.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Premature Ovarian Insufficiency: A Review of Utilization and Mechanisms

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is defined as a decline in ovarian function before the age of 40 and is one of the leading causes of infertility in women. The etiology is complex, and the pathogenesis is not clear. The main treatment is hormone replacement therapy, but a growing body of data confirms that such treatment can increase the risk of endometrial disease and cardiovascular disease. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been widely used in patients with POI due to its limited adverse reactions and high efficiency. According to literature reports, CAM therapy for POI mainly includes traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, psychotherapy, dietary supplements, and exercise therapy. This article reviews the application of CAM in the treatment of POI and attempts to determine the therapeutic effects and the mechanisms behind these effects based on existing clinical and experimental studies in order to provide theoretical support for the treatment of POI.

Perceptions and experiences of women with premature ovarian insufficiency about sexual health and reproductive health

Background

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a condition with impaired ovarian function that occurred in women before the age of 40. Considering that women with POI are in reproductive age and their fertility and sexual life are afflicted by this disorder directly, the present study aimed to investigate perception and experience of women with POI of sexual and reproductive health (SRH).

Methods

This is a qualitative that was implemented based on the conventional content analysis approach. The data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 women having POI, based on purposeful sampling and continued until data saturation. The participants were women with POI that referred to the three infertility center in Tehran, Iran. The audio recorded data were transcribed verbatim and then analyzed using conventional content analysis based on the method proposed by Zhang and Wildmouth.

Results

After content analysis of the interviews with a focus on the perception and experience of women with POI of SRH, four main categories emerged i.e. endangerment of women's health, psychological agitation, disruption of social life and disturbance in sexual life.

Conclusion

POI affects different aspects of women SRH (women physical, psychological, social and sexual heath). Therefore, knowledge of patients' concerns by health professionals is helpful to improve service delivery and increasing the effectiveness of treatment interventions by a comprehensive health care attitude.

An exploration of factors affecting the quality of life of women with primary ovarian insufficiency: a qualitative study

Background

Menopause before the age of 40 years is known as primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). Besides physical effects, being diagnosed with this disorder adversely affects the psychological health and quality of life (QOL). The present study aimed at shedding light on the factors affecting the QOL of women with POI.

Methods

The present study is a qualitative one. The data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 women having POI, selected purposively. Data rigor was ensured using Lincoln and Guba’s criteria. The recorded data were transcribed verbatim and then analyzed constantly at the same time as gathering the data using conventional content analysis.

Results

Three themes emerged regarding the QOL of women with POI, i.e. disease effect (physical and psychological effects), distorted self-concept (threatened identity and disease stigma), and hormone replacement therapy effect (positive and negative physical/psychological effects).

Conclusions

Due to the profound effects of the disease on different aspects of the biopsychosocial health of women with POI, a multifaceted health care approach is recommended to improve their QOL.