Accessible menopause project

The menopause can be a very complicated, emotional and isolating time in someone’s life. It’s a topic that is rarely discussed or taught and there is a lot of confusion about what the menopause actually is, what symptoms someone may experience and how to manage them. Added to this, we know that many deaf and hard of hearing women lack access to information and support around the menopause which is accessible, for example, offered in British Sign Language (BSL).

Since the summer of 2023, BID Services have been working in partnership with My Menopause Centre to increase awareness and understanding of the menopause, symptoms and treatment amongst Birmingham’s Deaf and hard of hearing community. Our project is funded through a Fairer Futures grant from Birmingham City Council, on behalf of the Birmingham & Solihull Integrated Care System. As we pass the halfway point in our project, we wanted to share an update.

Since we started the project, we have run four workshops covering topics from understanding the menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to how food and exercise can help you manage menopause symptoms. All workshops are delivered in English by a menopause specialist doctor from My Menopause Centre, with BSL interpreters. We have had great feedback from attendees so far who have told us they have really valued the opportunity to speak to a medical professional and get answers to their questions. We have more workshops coming up between now and March covering topics including wellbeing and sleep, contraception and loss of libido and hormonal health. Details of the next sessions are provided below.

We know not everyone can join us in person and that there are many more people outside of Birmingham who would benefit from these workshops. Therefore, we have also been recording our workshops and have now launched our accessible digital menopause resources, with BSL, audio and subtitled videos, which we will be expanding on as the project progresses. You can find these videos in our information library.

This project started as a result of research (see references below) BID Services and the University of Wolverhampton undertook back in 2018/19. This highlighted the lack of accessible support and information around the menopause available to deaf women with only around 7% of deaf women reporting access to information in BSL and 60% not being informed enough about the menopause. We have now continued this research with the University of Wolverhampton and My Menopause Centre, identifying what has changed, the impact of this project and what more needs to be done. The results will be published after the workshops have concluded. 

If you would like to find out more about this work, please get in touch at marketing@bid.org.uk.

Upcoming workshops (*to be confirmed)

• Monday 22nd April

References

Please let us know if you require the document in a different format.