Why women choose compounded bioidentical hormone therapy: lessons from a qualitative study of menopausal decision-making

Thompson, Jennifer Jo; Ritenbaugh, Cheryl; Nichter, Mark

doi:10.1186/s12905-017-0449-0

Table 2 Participant Characteristics

From: Why women choose compounded bioidentical hormone therapy: lessons from a qualitative study of menopausal decision-making

	Pseudonym	Race Ethnicity	Occupation (self-report)	Education level	Menopausalstatus	Conventional HT ^a	Herbal or Dietary Supplements	CBHT Clinician^b	Type of CBHT^c	Duration of CBHT (at interview)	Primary Menopause Information Sources	Reason for stopping CBHT
Current CBHT Users	Liz	white	Teacher	Bachelors Degree	Perimenopause	Never	Current	CNM	E & P	2 months	Trusted health care providers. Internet. Health food stores. Books (Christiane Northrup).	n/a
	Francis	white	Therapist	Bachelors Degree	Postmenopause	Never	Current	MD; Nurse Practitioner	E, P, DHEA	Several years	Social and professional networks.	n/a
	Kristina	white	Unemployed	Graduate Degree	Postmenopause	Never	Current	CNM	P	6–7 years	Health care provider. Books (Susun Weed)	n/a
	Deborah	white	Preschool Director	Bachelors Degree	Perimenopause	Never	Never	Naturopath	E & P	2 years	Friends. Trusted health care provider. Books. Health seminars. Media. Health food stores.	n/a
	Bev	white	Certified Nurse Midwife	Graduate Degree	Postmenopause	Never	Prior	Self (CNM)	E & P	6 wks	Media. Medical journals. Friends. Other health care professionals.	n/a
	Dorothy	white	Manager	High School	Postmenopause	Never	Prior	MD	E, P, T, DHEA	6–7 years	Friends. Health food store.	n/a
	Edria	African-American	Retired (researcher)	Graduate Degree	Postmenopause	Never	Prior	MD	E & P	1 year	Medical literature.	n/a
	Sydney	white	Self-employed	Graduate Degree	Postmenopause	Prior	Current	MD	E, P, T	Several years	Internet. Podcasts. Friends. Health care providers.	n/a
	Sandra	white	Substitute Teacher	Graduate Degree	Postmenopause	Prior	Prior	MD (menopause specialist)	T (also using FDA-approved E & P)	6 months	Books. Internet. Friends.	n/a
	Peg	white	Physical Therapist	Bachelors Degree	Postmenopause	Prior	Prior	Naturopath	E & P	12 years	Friends. Books (Northrup). Media.	n/a
	Ann	white	Fitness Instructor	Some College	Postmenopause	Never	Prior	MD (anti-aging specialist)	E, P, T, DHEA	1.5 years	Internet. Friends. Health care providers.	n/a
Former CBHT Users	Kris	white	Self-employed	Graduate Degree	Hysterectomy	Current: FDA-approved BHT	Prior	MD	P	Several years	Internet.	Ineffective; Concern about risk of HT
	Mary	white	PhD researcher	Graduate Degree	Postmenopause	Never	Current	MD	P (also has unfilled Rx for T)	Briefly	Internet. Doctor.	Ineffective; Switched to herbal Progesterone cream.
	Rebecca	white	Retail	Bachelors Degree	Postmenopause	Never	Current	Nurse Practitioner	E & P	1 year	Health food store. Books (Weed).	Negative side effects - stomach, skin, HPV diagnosis
	Joan	white	Behavioral Health Counselor	Graduate Degree	Postmenopause	Never	Never	MD	E & P	1–2 years	Health professionals. Friends. Partner.	Concern about risk of HT
	Sheree	African-American	City Government	Some College	Postmenopause	Never	Never	MD (women’s health specialist)	P	1.5 years	Friends. Critical reading of medical literature.	Symptoms abated; did not refill Rx
	Patsy	white	Retired (nurse)	Graduate Degree	Postmenopause	Never	Never	Internet provider	E & P	5 years	Internet. Books (Northrup).	Concern about risk of HT
	Karen	white	Naturopath	Graduate Degree	Postmenopause	Never	Prior	Self (Naturopath)	E & P	3 wks	Internet (WebMD, Mayo Clinic). Medical journals. Medical conferences. Friends.	Negative side effects - lightheadedness
	Patricia	Latina	Federal Investigator	Some College	Perimenopause	Never	Prior	Naturopath	E & P	4 months	Health care providers. Media.	Negative side effects - weight gain, breast tenderness
	Susan	white	Professor	Graduate Degree	Perimenopause	Never	Prior	MD	E & P	Several months	Internet. Friends. Sister.	Symptoms abated; did not refill Rx
	Kathleen	white	Self-employed	Graduate Degree	Perimenopause	Never	Prior	Naturopath	P	Several months	Internet. Books (Northrup).	Ineffective

^aHT = hormone therapy
^bCBHT = compounded bioidentical hormone therapy; CNM = Certified Nurse Midwife; MD = Medical Doctor
^cE = estrogen; P = progesterone; T = testosterone; DHEA = dehydroepiandrosterone

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ISSN: 1472-6874

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