Launching the largest study into menopause

This week you will find me presenting to a group of delegates at the Global Wellness Summit in Tel Aviv, about the Hormonal Wellness Initiative and its work with menopause.

What better time than this gathering of wellness industry leaders to launch the initiative’s flagship research project, The Menopause Million. It's time we improved the experience that women have during menopause with more knowledge, greater understanding and more options to address the unwanted consequences of hormonal change.

There's a lot of noise surrounding menopause at the moment, but there's not a lot of meaningful action. The spa industry is in a powerful position to change that, and we are driving the movement in data and evidence-based knowledge that facilitates awareness and availability of holistic solutions during menopause.

The Hormonal Wellness Initiative

The Hormonal Wellness Initiative is a Global Wellness Institute initiative, led by yours truly along with other industry leaders including Mark Kohoot - CEO of Areoscena LLC, biologist Dr Jolanta Idkowiak-Baldys, Dr. Shashi Prasad, Dr. Shagaf Bakour, Meera Bhogal - Founder of Meera’s Made from Scratch, and Dr. Verity Biggs.?Its goal is to provide greater understanding of hormones, their impact on our quality of life, and increase the ability of the wellness industry to offer support to individuals through active research leading to hormonal wellness education and protocols.

Front and centre of the initiative is the focus on menopause. Women in menopause have been underrepresented for too long. The signs of menopause are often misattributed, information is often baseline or contradictory, support is insufficient to the point where 5% of women leave work and more than 60% don't bother asking their doctor for help because they don't believe they will offer anything other than HRT - and for the most part, they won’t.

The wellness industry can do better for women

While there are some doctors who are providing excellent, multifaceted support of their own volition, they are inhibited by their lack of allocated time with patients. They are also inhibited by the lack of evidence for supporting lifestyle or holistic support for anyone who doesn't want to take HRT, or who wants to explore other options in addition to synthetic hormones. Why? Because the time hasn’t been taken to formally gather that evidence. For the most part, when women ask - is there an alternative solution to HRT, the answer is 'yes, antidepressants'. We can do better.

The most detailed menopause study in history

"There is no global study of this kind."?- Director of Medical Education and Honorary Consultant Gynaecology

In recent years, I have begun my own research into menopause and the ameliorating effects of holistic therapies on the unwanted consequences of hormonal change. It follows more than 13 years of work with women in menopause, particularly in the context of medical menopause brought on by cancer treatment.

I began with my State of the Art Scoping Review, commissioned from the UK’s Keele University. It provides academic validation and statistical scrutiny of holistic therapies on specific symptoms. This was the foundation on which my acupressure and phytohormone focused hormone balancing touch treatments were created.

However, I want to take things further, and so do my partners within the Hormonal Wellness Initiative. Which is why we have launched The Menopause Million this month. It will be the largest global research study into menopausal symptoms ever undertaken, collecting the big data needed to improve healthcare outcomes for women experiencing hormonal change.

"What I like about this questionnaire is it asks what are the most, second and least disturbing symptoms which is a good strategy for helping the women focus on what is most important to them." - Director of Medical Education and Honorary Consultant Gynaecology

It is in the form of a questionnaire that will be completed by one million women from across the globe. This is a project based on collaboration, where personal information will not be taken and big data is freely shared every quarter for the greater good. To achieve our goals, we need to work together, and we already have a number of valued partners, but we need more.

Everyone who shares in this project is a key player in improving women's health and wellbeing. Those who have already joined the movement are valued members of the team. We want to invite all businesses, charities, organisations and individuals to spread the word. Those who commit to collaborating with us by promoting the research, sharing information and generating sign ups to our questionnaire, can count themselves amongst the pioneers changing the game for women's health.

We hope you will join us.

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