Why Culturally Sensitive Communication Matters in Menopause Care

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At the Menopause Society (TMS) 2025 meeting in Orlando, Florida, Lisa J. Taylor‑Swanson, PhD, LAc, Dipl OM (NCCAOM)—Associate Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Utah—discussed the importance of delivering menopause care that is both culturally sensitive and family-focused.

She emphasized that, among Hispanic and Indigenous midlife women, menopause is often a taboo subject, and care communications must reflect that sensitivity. She highlighted the need to invite family members into consultations and appointments, recognizing that the patient’s support network often wants to know not only what is happening but also how they can help.

Taylor-Swanson also stressed the value of really knowing the patient—her values, cultural context, and preferences—so that care plans and communication are appropriate, relevant, and respectful. She noted that patients are likely to ask about herbal medicine, acupuncture, acupressure, massage therapy, mindfulness, and other integrative-health options, so healthcare providers should be prepared with resources, networks, and referral pathways.

Pharmacy Times: What unique cultural or clinical considerations emerged from your research on menopause in Indigenous and Hispanic populations?

Lisa J. Taylor‑Swanson, PhD, LAc, Dipl OM (NCCAOM): So, in working with both Indigenous and Hispanic midlife women, really having a series of conversations over months and years—really getting into good levels of detail, I would say—not just a one-time focus group, women across communities said, “We want natural medicine first, and it's really essential to know that I can take this safely and have it monitored.”

Secondly, we want to bring our daughters—that’s the new information that came up—and also our partners, our husbands. It's so much a family orientation that the family needs to be taken into account. And I think that's the case across providers. It might be less so at the pharmacy counter—the prescription is going to be filled and here we are—but maybe in the sense of menopause still being quite a taboo topic, it’s important to be able to talk openly with patients. If they bring their daughter with them to the pharmacy, it should be talked about; it shouldn’t be hush-hush, as long as the woman seems comfortable with that.

So, I think keeping that family focus in mind is really essential, because that is, again, something that I heard loud and clear from both Hispanic and Indigenous women. Another sort of overlap in the Venn diagram is very much that both groups of women are understudied. It’s a little bit hard to compare the two without something like a bibliometric analysis, but there’s probably a little more literature on Hispanic women. Without a doubt, though, we know so little compared to what we need to know.

The other thing I’ll say is that we don’t have data in terms of the number of years Indigenous women experience vasomotor symptoms. But it’s well known and well documented that Hispanic women experience vasomotor events one or two years longer compared to white women. So, longer duration of symptoms and greater severity as well is a real challenge, for sure.

Pharmacy Times: How can pharmacists and healthcare providers better tailor communication and care strategies to support these groups?

Taylor-Swanson: So, I think care strategies and communications absolutely need to be tailored in a way that’s culturally sensitive. First off, knowing this is a taboo topic in both Hispanic and Indigenous communities, it’s important to be sensitive and mindful in whatever way would be appropriate given the type of communication at hand—whether that’s in person or in print.

Secondly, I think, again, really keeping that family focus in mind is essential. The patient might want to bring a family member to an appointment, and that should be just fine, because they might very well have questions—not only, “What’s wrong with my beloved family member?” but also, “How can I help her?” That’s something we very much heard from our community advisory board members. Families, of course, want to learn how to support one another, especially during a major life transition such as the menopausal transition.

I think it’s important to really get to know the patient as much as possible, because that will help you tailor the communication and care plan for her as well, so you won’t come from left field with something that’s really shocking or potentially inappropriate for her. It’s critical to take her values and perspectives into account—again, knowing it’s such a taboo topic—and knowing that she’s probably going to ask about herbal medicine. Be ready for those questions, and if that’s not in someone’s wheelhouse, it’s important to have a good network of collaborators or resources to help discern options in terms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, acupressure, referrals for massage therapy, mindfulness meditation, or cognitive behavioral therapy.

There are a lot of options, and it’s not an either-or situation. I think the best-case scenario is that all women have access to all interventions that are safe and effective, whether they’re pharmaceutical or nonpharmaceutical, hormonal or otherwise.