The influence of ethnicity on the symptoms of post-reproductive women

Romana Belešová *, Valérie Tóthová
University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Institute of Nursing, Midwifery and Emergency Care, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

Korespondenční autor: Romana Belešová (rbelesova@zsf.jcu.cz)

ISSN 1804-7181 (On-line)

Full verze:

Submitted:14. 3. 2022
Accepted: 1. 6. 2022
Published online: 30. 6. 2022

Summary

Theoretical basis: The menopause is a period in women’s lives when their ability to reproduce decreases, and as it gradually ends, women move into the so-called post-production phase. In this transitional phase, women are at risk of developing various symptoms, which are affected by more factors than only a deficiency of ovarian hormones (estrogens). Many recent international studies have shown the influence of other factors on women‘s health during this period, such as the family environment, interpersonal relationships, employment, and ethnic and cultural aspects.

Goal: The literature review is devoted to the research of published studies dealing with the influence of ethnicity and culture on the occurrence of symptoms and health of women in the post-reproductive phase of their lives.

Methods: We searched for the included studies using the method of content analysis. The scientific databases focused on women’s health, and studies published between 2017 and 2022 were found in databases such as PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and EBSCO. We used the keywords “ethnicity”, “menopause”, “symptom”, “influence”, “woman”, and the Boolean operator “AND”. The content analysis took place from January to February 2022. After checking the eligibility and relevance of studies, we included and analysed eight articles.

Results: It is clear from the literature review results that ethnic and cultural factors are involved in vasomotor, somatic, and cognitive symptoms in women with estrogen deficiency.

Conclusions: The information obtained can be helpful, and used in providing individual holistic care to women of different ethnicities in both primary care and inpatient health facilities.

Keywords: Culture; Ethnicity; Factor; Influence; Menopause; Symptom; Woman

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