| Description |
Background: Vasomotor symptoms (VMS), including hot flashes and night sweats, affect a significant proportion of midlife women and can severely impact their quality of life. Despite their prevalence, many primary care providers lack confidence in identifying and managing VMS, leading to gaps in care. Targeted education has been shown to improve provider competency in menopause management. This quality improvement initiative aimed to enhance provider confidence in VMS management through structured educational interventions. Local Problem: A primary care clinic affiliated with a large academic health system identified a gap in provider confidence in VMS management. Pre-intervention data indicated that while 81% of providers felt somewhat confident in identifying VMS, only 76% reported confidence in managing it, with substantial reliance on external resources. Given the increasing demand for menopause care, this project sought to address these knowledge gaps and improve clinical preparedness. Methods: A Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework guided the implementation of an educational intervention. A pre- and post-intervention survey assessed provider confidence in identifying and managing VMS. The study included 26 participants from various clinical backgrounds, including nurse practitioners, midwives, and physicians. Confidence levels were measured on a Likert scale, and statistical analysis was conducted using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Interventions: The intervention consisted of an evidence-based educational session on VMS pathophysiology, management strategies, and clinical guidelines. Participants received a decision-support toolkit and attended interactive discussions to reinforce learning. Results: Among the 12 participants who completed both pre- and post-surveys, confidence in identifying VMS improved but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.084). Pre-intervention, 50% of providers agreed they were confident in determining when VMS should be treated; postintervention, this increased to 58%. Those reporting neutral or low confidence declined from 33% to 0%. Confidence in managing VMS showed a statistically significant improvement (p = 0.041). Pre-intervention, only 25% of providers agreed they were confident in managing VMS; post-intervention, this increased to 42%, with 58% reporting they were somewhat confident. Those with neutral or low confidence dropped from 33% to 0%. The intervention successfully elevated provider comfort with VMS management, a key step toward improving clinical decision-making. Screening practices and resource utilization also varied. While 43% of providers always screened for menopause-related symptoms pre-intervention, this increased post-intervention. All participants used external resources to some degree, with 33% relying on them all the time, highlighting an ongoing need for accessible clinical tools. Conclusion: This project successfully improved provider confidence in managing VMS, with statistically significant gains in management confidence and a positive trend in identification confidence. The intervention provided a cost-effective, structured educational approach to addressing menopause-related knowledge gaps. Future initiatives should focus on integrating menopause education into continuing medical education (CME) and providing ongoing clinical support to sustain practice improvements. |
