Treating the Perimenopause in the UK Armed Forces: A mixed methods review exploring the confidence of General Practitioners.

AimTo assess the confidence of GPs working in DPHC in the management of the PMP.Design and SettingThis study employed a mixed methods approach and included all GPs (Uniformed and Civilian) working in DPHC.MethodsA cross-sectional survey gathered quantitative data on demographics, views on perimenopause care, and self-rated confidence levels in managing the perimenopause among Defence GPs. Semi-structured interviews of purposefully sampled respondents was thematically analysed to explore this further.ResultsThere were 164 responses from 542 Defence GPs (response rate 30.3%). The majority of respondents expressed confidence in managing the perimenopause but reported lower confidence levels in prescribing HRT for younger women and initiating testosterone. Factors influencing confidence included recent perimenopause continuing professional development (CPD), GP gender, and exposure to perimenopause cases. Semi-structured interviews provided deeper insights into GP characteristics, CPD, and awareness of the PMP. Women’s health hubs providing PMP care and experiential education were strongly supported.ConclusionsWhile the study identified gaps in confidence among Defence GPs, particularly in certain aspects of perimenopause management, similar to those found in NHS GPs. CPD and case exposure were important predictors of confidence, with strong support for regional women’s health hubs to optimise PMP care. Further research is warranted to explore strategies for bridging confidence gaps and improving perimenopause care delivery within the UKAF context.<br/

Treating the Perimenopause in the UK Armed Forces: A mixed methods review exploring the confidence of General Practitioners.

AimTo assess the confidence of GPs working in DPHC in the management of the PMP.Design and SettingThis study employed a mixed methods approach and included all GPs (Uniformed and Civilian) working in DPHC.MethodsA cross-sectional survey gathered quantitative data on demographics, views on perimenopause care, and self-rated confidence levels in managing the perimenopause among Defence GPs. Semi-structured interviews of purposefully sampled respondents was thematically analysed to explore this further.ResultsThere were 164 responses from 542 Defence GPs (response rate 30.3%). The majority of respondents expressed confidence in managing the perimenopause but reported lower confidence levels in prescribing HRT for younger women and initiating testosterone. Factors influencing confidence included recent perimenopause continuing professional development (CPD), GP gender, and exposure to perimenopause cases. Semi-structured interviews provided deeper insights into GP characteristics, CPD, and awareness of the PMP. Women’s health hubs providing PMP care and experiential education were strongly supported.ConclusionsWhile the study identified gaps in confidence among Defence GPs, particularly in certain aspects of perimenopause management, similar to those found in NHS GPs. CPD and case exposure were important predictors of confidence, with strong support for regional women’s health hubs to optimise PMP care. Further research is warranted to explore strategies for bridging confidence gaps and improving perimenopause care delivery within the UKAF context.<br/

Serving through the perimenopause:Experiences of women in the UK Armed Forces

Perimenopause is a hot topic in the UK mainstream media, with celebrities championing the cause and a new selection of books being published on the topic. Little is known, however, about the experiences of women serving in the UK Armed Forces while transitioning through perimenopause. This mixed-methods survey aimed to evaluate women's current experiences to determine what future research or policy is required to support this phase. It highlighted seven themes where the impact of the perimenopause was the greatest: coping in the workplace, fearing the effect on careers, accessing healthcare, the management of perimenopause by primary care, physical effects, psychological and cognitive effects, and physical activity. It shows that issues felt by those in the perimenopause are exacerbated for those working in male-dominated environments. Policy changes in the delivery of primary healthcare, occupational health and employment could improve the situation for women in all similar workplaces.</p

Practice based small group learning during a pandemic: an evaluation from Defence Primary Healthcare

The educational benefits of Practice-Based Small Group Learning (PBSGL) are well known. The Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom employs a salaried healthcare workforce across the globe with staff frequently moving. Given the success of PBSGL in Canada and Scotland, PBSGL was introduced as a large pilot to assess it as a continuous professional development (CPD) resource. A survey gathering quantitative and qualitative was distributed to the pilot population after using PBSGL for 12 months. This showed the favoured types of CPD were PBSGL and taught CPD update courses. Themes identified from free-text comments were: developing professional educational networks during Covid; evolving themes of CPD; applying learning to practice; practical aspects of delivering CPD to Defence promoting a positive learning environment; human interaction is therapeutic. These were similar to educational and non-educational benefits found in previous evaluations, but with the added benefit of providing a professional educational network during the COVID pandemic. Benefits were preserved when the sessions were run remotely using video-conferencing, although some of the human interaction was lost. As CPD, it was highly valued. For Defence, who need to consider the CPD requirements of their workforce, provision of PBSGL alongside taught CPD updates may satisfy the learning needs of the majority of the workforce.</p