An online tool to help women make informed decisions about Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) will be developed by a team at the University of Melbourne.
The decision aid tool, announced today as part of funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council Partnership Project scheme, aims to help women navigate conversations with clinicians and better support them to make decisions around MHT.
The new website will be backed by research and the latest evidence, giving women access to independent, evidence-based information about hormone therapies.
Lead investigator and University of Melbourne Professor Martha Hickey, also Director of the Women’s Gynaecology Research Centre at the Royal Women’s Hospital, said it is a unique and important project to give women access to impartial information.
“Around one quarter of women experiencing menopause report symptoms severe enough to affect their daily lives,” Professor Hickey said.
“Effective treatments are available but treatment decisions are often made in the context of confusing, incomplete or inaccurate information.
“Menopausal symptoms may impact daily life, work, and wellbeing, yet tools to help women make informed decisions about treatment are lacking.
“This project will be the first evidence-based tool, co-designed with consumers and clinicians to empower women to make informed choices Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT), based on their own values and needs.”
Professor Hickey said while MHT is the most effective treatment for menopausal hot flushes and nights sweats that affect most women at this time, it’s not suitable for everyone and carries small but well defined risks that vary person to person.
The NHMRC’s Partnership Project scheme will also fund two other projects, including:
- Associate Professor Anita D’Aprano: $1.41 million for Growing Up Strong: Evaluation of the Expanded ASQ-TRAK Training and Support Model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children. This project evaluates a new training model to increase staff providing culturally appropriate developmental screening for Indigenous children, using ASQ-TRAK. The team will examine if this model effectively trains staff, can be implemented widely, and improves developmental care. If successful, it transforms nationwide delivery of developmental screening. More Indigenous children will receive ASQ-TRAK screening and timely access to support services, helping them reach their full potential.
- Dr Eleanor Brown: $1.49 million for Youth Specialist mental health care: ‘Getting It Right’ through a learning health system founded on a national partnership of co-design, research and implementation science. Youth mental health services in Australia are stretched and often don’t meet the needs of young people with complex issues. Many fall into the “missing middle” — too unwell for basic care, but not eligible for specialist help. A new national service model is being funded to fix this. This project will evaluate how the new model is rolled out, making sure it works in the real world and helps create better, more flexible care for young people across the country.
