Menopause Information Library for the Deaf Community

Menopause Information Library for the Deaf Community

The menopause can be a very complicated, emotional and isolating time in someone’s life. Whilst the menopause is increasingly being discussed on television, in the press and even in workplaces, there can be 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, based on research conducted by the University of Wolverhampton, as detailed below, that D/deaf and hard of hearing women can lack access to information and support around the menopause, for example, information presented 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 D/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. My Menopause Centre have provided their support pro bono. Through this project we have run a series of 7 workshops for Birmingham’s Deaf and hard of hearing community raising awareness of key topics related to the menopause from understanding the menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to how food and exercise can help you manage menopause symptoms, as well as loss of libido and contraception. All workshops were delivered in English by a specialist menopause doctor from My Menopause Centre, with BSL interpreters.

The workshops have now come to an end, but for those unable to join us in person, we have been recording our workshops and creating a suite of accessible digital menopause resources, with BSL, audio and subtitled videos. You can find these videos in our information library.

The videos also include a suite of Frequently Asked Questions videos explaining the many different terms people will come across when they start their menopause journey. Each video was developed in collaboration with the Deaf community, our partners My Menopause Centre, bringing their medical expertise, our BSL interpreters and Sarah Bown and Kristiaan Dekesel, specialists in Interpreting and Deaf Studies from the University of Wolverhampton. We hope that these resources will not only prove invaluable for the Deaf community across the UK but that they will also benefit BSL interpreters when working on menopause related assignments. These resources will also support health professionals, increasing awareness in how to provide appropriate information in a way which is accessible for the individual they are working with.

Building on the success of this work and the accessible health information and service gaps identified for D/deaf and hard of hearing women, in particular around the menopause, we are delighted to announce that we are now also partnering with Holland & Barrett. Holland & Barrett are dedicated to addressing inequalities in women’s health and are already working to address this with regards to the menopause. Holland & Barrett have supported us in the creation of the accessible menopause resources and are working to raise awareness of these resources with the Deaf community, their friends and family as well as health care professionals.

Holland & Barrett are also partnering with us and our medical partner, My Menopause Centre, to raise awareness around the need for menopause information and services to be adapted to ensure they are accessible for the Deaf community. Through this collaboration we hope to break down barriers, enabling health equity with improved access to health information and services.

This project started following a research proposal by Sarah Bown from the University of Wolverhampton, undertaken in 2018/19, across the region and further afield which BID Services helped facilitate. The research findings highlighted the lack of accessible support and information around the menopause available to D/deaf women with only around 7% reporting access to information in BSL and 60% not being informed enough about the menopause. The University of Wolverhampton has built on this research with BID Services and My Menopause Centre supporting this, identifying what has changed, the impact of this project and what more needs to be done as detailed in the infographics below.

University of Wolverhampton Research 2018/19

University of Wolverhampton Research 2023/24

We would like to say a huge thank you to the Deaf community of Birmingham, to My Menopause Centre, to the wonderful BSL interpreters, to the University of Wolverhampton and to Holland & Barrett for helping us deliver this project, develop our accessible Menopause resources and raise awareness of this important topic.

To view our Menopause resources please visit our website: https://www.bid.org.uk/resources/menopause-resources/

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