Summary of menopausal health education work

Standard answer-style science popularization is useless. You have to meet the real needs of different people and dare to put disputes in the professional field on the table. On the contrary, you can gain higher trust.

Speaking of which, we also took many detours in the beginning. At first, I copied the courseware given by my superiors, rented a community auditorium for centralized lectures, and printed thousands of folded copies of "10 Questions on Menopausal Health Care." As a result, half of the aunties who came were dozing off, and the folded pages were stuffed into the vegetable basket as paper pads. It wasn’t until Aunt Zhang came to the outpatient clinic for joint pain that she said she had been in pain for half a year and had gone to the orthopedic department three times for three months, but no problem could be found. She learned that menopause can also cause symptoms of bone and joint discomfort after listening to our class last time. “Your class only talked about hot flashes and night sweats. How did I know that leg pain was related to this?” We finally realized that the unified popular science content missed too many atypical symptoms and did not capture the real pain points of ordinary people.

When it comes to popular science about menopause, one thing that cannot be avoided is the controversy of hormone replacement therapy. This is something we did not dare to talk about in depth before, for fear of not being clear about it and taking responsibility. Later, we simply invited a Western medicine gynecologist from the District Maternity and Children's Department, and Director Chen from the Center's Traditional Chinese Medicine Department to hold a Q&A session. The views of both sides were presented, without favoring any faction: Western medicine clearly stated that people who meet the indications (within 10 years of menopause, under 60 years old, and no contraindications) use MHT to improve symptoms such as hot flashes and genitourinary tract atrophy. The benefits far outweigh the risks. However, people with a history of estrogen-dependent tumors and unexplained vaginal bleeding must not use it. ； Director Chen also cited his own follow-up cases, saying that many people have concerns about hormones, and there is no need to forcefully recommend them. Acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine prescribed based on syndrome differentiation, and Baduanjin exercises twice a week, among the 32 patients he followed, the symptom improvement rate can reach more than 70%. We did not give the "optimal solution". We only explained clearly the applicable groups, pros and cons of the two options, and let everyone choose for themselves. Don't tell me, the number of people who came to consult after the Q&A session doubled.

There is a 48-year-old Aunt Li who was diagnosed with type 3 breast nodules and did not dare to take hormones. She followed Director Chen and did moxibustion and Baduanjin twice a week for 3 months. Her insomnia problem was 80% improved, and she is now volunteering as our science popularization volunteer.； There is also a 51-year-old Aunt Wang who suffers from hot flashes more than ten times a day. She drank soy milk for half a year and took more than 3,000 yuan of health supplements to no avail. After the evaluation, there were no contraindications. She took MHT for two months and her symptoms basically disappeared. Last time she came for a review, she even brought us home-grown oranges.

Later, we simply moved the science popularization venue from the auditorium to the elderly care service station downstairs in the community. We would have about ten people at a time and put out the chrysanthemum tea, lemon slices that everyone loved, and soda crackers bought from the community supermarket. We would not give lectures when they came, and let everyone complain first - you said that you have been talking to your wife recently During the quarrel, she said she cried for no reason, and some people said they always forget things and whether they are suffering from Alzheimer's disease. We will follow what they said and explain why there are these symptoms, which ones are normal, and which ones should be checked in the hospital. It is much more effective than the two hours of PPT lectures before. What’s interesting is that we also held two special sessions for men, telling uncles that menopause is not caused by aunts, but is caused by physiological changes caused by hormone fluctuations. Helping with housework and saying less sarcastic words is more effective than any tonic. Later, an uncle came over and told us that he used to quarrel with his wife every day, but now that he knew the whole story, he took the initiative to do the dishwashing, and his wife’s temper has really improved a lot.

Of course, there are still many missing items in my work. For example, there are many migrant menopausal women in the jurisdiction who usually have to go to work and take care of their children. They have no time to participate in our activities, and they cannot see the notices we send. ； There are also many aunts with more traditional ideas who feel that menopause is "a shameful thing only when you are old" and are unwilling to tell others and carry it at home. The last time a grid member came to check the menopause, they found that an aunt had been suffering from night sweats for half a year and had never mentioned it to others. She thought she was weak and took ginseng and astragalus supplements every day. The more supplements she took, the hotter and hotter she became. Also, an aunt asked if soy isoflavones and menopausal health care products sold online could be eaten. We didn't explain them clearly at the time. Later, an aunt bought them and took them for three months. Her breasts were so painful that she came to check and found that the nodules had increased from Category 2 to Category 3. We later added a special issue of popular science on health products to tell everyone that these phytoestrogens are not suitable for everyone. It is best to ask a doctor before taking them, and don't buy them blindly.

We don’t have any big plans next. We just plan to follow the grid members to make more trips to rental houses and wholesale markets, hand out foldouts to women who don’t have time to come, leave WeChat messages for consultation, and organize a few small groups of aunties who have participated in activities before. If they are afraid of noise, we will post one or two practical tips every week.