A website written by clinicians to help women through the menopause has come first prize in the Patient Information Website category in the BMA Medical Book Competition Awards 2004.


Menopause Matters (www.menopausematters.co.uk) was set up by Dr Heather Currie, associate specialist gynaecologist and obstetrician, at the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, and run by her and a team of Scottish health professionals. It covers a wealth of topics from HRT to alternative therapies, and even book recommendations.


Awarding the prize, the BMA said: “This independent, clinician-led website covers all of the ground in a well-designed and clear interface." A total of 75 websites were entered for the award.


Dr Currie told E-Health Insider that she and her team were thrilled that a small, independent group of clinicians had been recognised.


Talking about the origins of the site, she said: "Originally, I had written a little paper booklet for the health profession which tried to simplify the mess and confusion about the menopause and HRT. The book was used by patients too.

 

"But it was such a rapidly changing field that the booklet was way out of date. So we came up with the idea of making it in website form. The health professionals’ part has all the drugs involved, so that’s on a secure part. But, because I wanted people to have something to look at when they first went on, that’s when we developed the public part of the site.

 

“The other reason we developed the site was because I felt there was a gap in the provision of interesting, unbiased menopause websites that weren’t out of date."

 

Dr Currie said that a neutral, clinician-led website that wasn’t trying to sell drugs was important to helping people understand the menopause. “Women should be informed and encouraged to take part in the decision process, and information is a basic part of that."

In a recent survey done by the managers of the site, 100% of clinicians said that they would refer patients to the website for information.


One of the most-used parts of the site is a decision tree that can be referred to both by patients and clinicians to help them make choices about care. “It’s a interactive thing that people are finding extremely useful,” said Dr Currie. “The decision tree helps them choose treatments there. From a primary care perspective, it’s useful."


The site has been running since January 2002 and is funded through sponsorship.


Links


Menopause Matters
How to enter the 2005 competition

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