Willingness to use clinical scales for menopause management among general practitioners

Climacteric. 2024 Sep 10:1-6. doi: 10.1080/13697137.2024.2395986. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Objectives: The use of digital healthcare technologies to enhance healthcare delivery has seen significant growth. However, a notable a notable research gap exists in the application of clinical scales for menopause management by general practitioners (GPs). This study aims to investigate willingness of GPs to use specific menopausal scale tools in the care of females for menopause management.

Method: An anonymous online survey was developed, which received responses from 348 French GPs in 2023. Multiple backward logistic regression was performed to identify the factors influencing the willingness to use a practical menopause management scale.

Results: In total, 87.93% of GPs are not familiar with the Greene Climacteric Scale and 90.52% are not familiar with the Menopause Quick 6 scale. In contrast, 90.52% would be interested in having access to such scales. The willingness to use a menopause management scale is associated with caring for menopausal females (odds ratio [OR] = 6.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] [2.08-18.08], p = 0.001), less experience (OR = 7.10, 95% CI [2.05-25.22], p = 0.002), the importance of health prevention in daily practice (comparing 'very important' to 'not', OR = 12.98, 95% CI [1.68-97.60], p = 0.004) and the use of a digital scale in daily practice for menopausal management (OR = 2.13, 95% CI [1.04-5.83], p = 0.014).

Conclusion: Future research is essential in representative population to confirm these findings in menopause management.

Keywords: Menopause; climacteric; clinical scale; digital tool; general practitioner; health care; prevention; woman.