Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
Menopausal Women's Access Path to Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy: An Exploratory Study
Doris Moro1,
1. Ryerson University, Toronto, ON 2. School of Nursing, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3V6. Email: youngw@mun.ca 3. The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy, Toronto, ON 4. University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe: the key factors affecting women's initial decision to explore the use of bioidentical hormones; where women gather their information on bioidentical hormones; the enablers and barriers to obtaining bioidentical hormones; and how to improve the BHRT access path.
DESIGN: An exploratory qualitative study.
SETTING: One compounding pharmacy in a large …show more content…
Menopause is defined as cessation of menstruation for one year usually occurring between the ages of 45 and 55 (3). Replacement of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, or HRT, is a common treatment for symptoms associated with menopause. The available HRT options are conventional HRT (CHRT)(4) and bioidentical HRT (BHRT). CHRT was developed in the 1940s to solve the problem that bioidentical hormones degraded rapidly (5). After development, CHRT was tested, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and then prescribed to control menopausal symptoms. BHRT (estradiol, estrone, estriol, progesterone and testosterone) was first made available in the 1930s. BHRT is prescribed by a physician and prepared by a “compounding pharmacy”. In Canada, compounding pharmacies are provincially regulated and employ professional pharmacists that provide individualized custom preparations for …show more content…
Adams and Cannell (10) found that women surveyed in a compounding pharmacy stated that “compared with standard hormones, natural hormones are safer, cause fewer side effects, and are equally or more effective for symptom management.” Yet, the scientific evidence to support women’s beliefs about the efficacy of BHRT is weak (11,12). No large randomized trials (RCT) of BHRT have yet been released. Researchers are currently recruiting patients for a study to determine if it will be feasible to conduct a RCT comparing CHRT and BHRT
Doris Moro1,
1. Ryerson University, Toronto, ON 2. School of Nursing, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3V6. Email: youngw@mun.ca 3. The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy, Toronto, ON 4. University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe: the key factors affecting women's initial decision to explore the use of bioidentical hormones; where women gather their information on bioidentical hormones; the enablers and barriers to obtaining bioidentical hormones; and how to improve the BHRT access path.
DESIGN: An exploratory qualitative study.
SETTING: One compounding pharmacy in a large …show more content…
Menopause is defined as cessation of menstruation for one year usually occurring between the ages of 45 and 55 (3). Replacement of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, or HRT, is a common treatment for symptoms associated with menopause. The available HRT options are conventional HRT (CHRT)(4) and bioidentical HRT (BHRT). CHRT was developed in the 1940s to solve the problem that bioidentical hormones degraded rapidly (5). After development, CHRT was tested, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and then prescribed to control menopausal symptoms. BHRT (estradiol, estrone, estriol, progesterone and testosterone) was first made available in the 1930s. BHRT is prescribed by a physician and prepared by a “compounding pharmacy”. In Canada, compounding pharmacies are provincially regulated and employ professional pharmacists that provide individualized custom preparations for …show more content…
Adams and Cannell (10) found that women surveyed in a compounding pharmacy stated that “compared with standard hormones, natural hormones are safer, cause fewer side effects, and are equally or more effective for symptom management.” Yet, the scientific evidence to support women’s beliefs about the efficacy of BHRT is weak (11,12). No large randomized trials (RCT) of BHRT have yet been released. Researchers are currently recruiting patients for a study to determine if it will be feasible to conduct a RCT comparing CHRT and BHRT