Positive impact of a menopause website - MyMenoplan.org - on treatment intentions, knowledge, and decision making: A randomized controlled trial

Leslie B Snyder; Katherine M Newton; Hui Xin Ng; Susan D Reed; Katherine A Guthrie; Viviana Zambrano; Andrea Z LaCroix

doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2025.108630

Positive impact of a menopause website - MyMenoplan.org - on treatment intentions, knowledge, and decision making: A randomized controlled trial

Maturitas. 2025 Aug:199:108630. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2025.108630. Epub 2025 Jun 5.

Authors

Leslie B Snyder¹, Katherine M Newton², Hui Xin Ng³, Susan D Reed⁴, Katherine A Guthrie⁵, Viviana Zambrano⁶, Andrea Z LaCroix⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Communication, University of Connecticut, 377 Mansfield Road, Storrs, CT 06269-1259, USA. Electronic address: leslie.snyder@uconn.edu.
² Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, 1730 Minor Ave, Suite, 1360, Seattle, WA, USA.
³ Department of Cognitive Science, University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. Electronic address: hxng@ucsd.edu.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1959 NE Pacific St, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: reeds@uw.edu.
⁵ Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109, USA. Electronic address: kguthrie@fredhutch.org.
⁶ Department of Communication, University of Connecticut, 377 Mansfield Road, Storrs, CT 06269-1259, USA.
⁷ Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. Electronic address: alacroix@ucsd.edu.

Abstract

Objective: Assess the impact of a new website, MyMenoplan.org, on menopause knowledge, decision-making progress, treatment and coping intentions among people experiencing perimenopause and menopause. The website was designed to provide women and their clinicians with comprehensive, evidence-based information and decision-making tools about a broad range of symptoms and treatments, address common questions and facilitate conversations with clinicians when desired.

Study design: Women were recruited online and randomized to interact with the MyMenoplan.org website created by MsFLASH investigators (n = 200) or control websites (n = 210) for at least 20 min before completing an online survey. Women in the control arm could choose any website(s), including three suggested high-quality websites from governmental or non-profit organizations. Fraud-detection protocols were followed. Outcome differences by arm were estimated via adjusted linear regression models.

Primary outcomes: Behavioral change intentions, menopause knowledge, decision-making progress, and user website experience.

Results: 99 % of controls visited at least one recommended website. Compared with the control arm, the MyMenoplan.org arm reported significantly higher levels of intent to change treatment (3.87 vs. 3.61), knowledge of menopause symptoms and treatments (4.17 vs. 3.85), treatment decision-making progress (3.94 vs. 3.71), clarity about benefits and risks of treatments (4.04 vs. 3.81), perceived website quality (4.05 vs. 3.70), intentions to return to the website (4.40 vs. 3.97), and likelihood of recommending it to others (4.35 vs. 4.04; each p < 0.001).

Conclusion: MyMenoplan.org is the first NIH-funded website shown to be effective in helping women learn and make decisions about management of the menopause transition. The website serves as a model for providing much-needed, evidence-based information for health-care providers and women nearing or in perimenopause and menopause.

Clinical trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05299983.

Keywords: Decision making; Knowledge; Menopause; Randomized controlled trial; Treatment intentions; Website.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Decision Making*
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Humans
Intention
Internet*
Menopause* / psychology
Middle Aged
Patient Education as Topic*

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT05299983

Grants and funding

R01 AG048209/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States