THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF MENOPAUSE IN IMMIGRANT HAITIAN WOMEN: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS (WOMEN IMMIGRANTS).
Contributors: Adelphi University.
Published: 1996
Number of pages: 294
Subjects: Education, Health.; Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology.; Women's Studies.
Description: Menopause constitutes a major health problem for many women. Approximately one third of the nation's female population is menopausal. It is estimated that forty million women in the next ten years, and sixty million women by the year 2020, will go through menopause. Yet the experience of menopause is still fraught with myths and taboos. This study explored the lived experience of menopause in immigrant Haitian women living in a suburban northeastern community in the United States.

Ranging in age from 40 to 55, the participants consisted of eight immigrant Haitian women with children. Data were collected using open-ended interview techniques. The participants were interviewed individually, a minimum of three times. All interviews were tape recorded. They were first transcribed verbatim in Creole and then translated into English. Field notes and demographic information contributed to the data.

Data were analyzed using Spiegelberg's phenomenological methodology. This methodology allowed for a rich description of the phenomenon of menopause in the participants. The raw data were organized into codes or particular essences, from which a total of 53 were identified.

Commonalities that evolved from those essences were organized into themes or general essences. The following six themes were extracted: (1) Bad Timing; (2) Menopause As A Taboo Subject; (3) Insufficient Knowledge; (4) Coping With Menopause And Managing Symptoms; (5) Feeling Powerless; and (6) Loss.

The six themes, common to all eight participants interviewed, represented the lived experience of menopause in immigrant Haitian women. The results of the study will add to the knowledge of the lived experience of menopausal women that has implications for nursing practice, education, and research.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-12, Section: A, page: 5068.

Thesis (PH.D.)--ADELPHI UNIVERSITY, 1996.

School code: 0001.