Mindfulness and physical activity in the management of menopausal symptoms

Abstract

Background: Mindfulness and physical activity (PA) have been recommended to help in the management of menopausal symptoms (Carmody et al., 2011; Kim et al., 2014). However, to date no study has sought women’s views regarding acceptability of the components of PA and mindfulness interventions.

The aim of this body of work was to coproduce principles for development of walking and mindfulness interventions. Design: Study 1, a systematic review (SR) of PA interventions that assessed the quality of studies (n= 13) and identified behavioural change techniques (BCTs) in interventions designed to reduce vasomotor symptoms. Study 2, an online survey (n=472) assessed women’s menopause symptoms, health literacy, support needs, knowledge of the menopause and attitudes to PA and mindfulness. Study 3 explored women’s views (n=17) about barriers and facilitators in walking and mindfulness interventions, along with the acceptability of proposed BCTs.

Results: In the SR, goal setting and instructions on PA were the most commonly identified BCTs, however the majority of studies lacked details on intervention content / delivery, were of “weak” quality and only one was theory based. Within the survey, women reported mental health problems, had unmet informational needs about menopausal symptoms and wanted more support from medical professionals. The survey and qualitative study indicated that women wanted social support for PA and instructions on how to undertake mindfulness, with a mobile app the preferred method for delivery, engagement and reporting. Women were open to BCTs that included collaborative setting of weekly goals, but time, family and work commitments were potential barriers to intervention engagement.

Conclusions: The findings will be used to inform a mindfulness and walking intervention for menopausal women. However, this will require coproduction in prototype of the intervention before feasibility testing.

Date of Award	Apr 2024
Original language	English
Supervisor	Lynn Dunwoody (Supervisor), Kelly Norwood (Supervisor) & Liz Simpson (Supervisor)