A Situation-Specific Theory of Asian Immigrant Women's Menopausal Symptom Experience in the United States

Abstract

In this paper, a situation-specific theory that explains the menopausal symptom experiences of Asian immigrant women in the U.S. is presented. Using an integrative approach, the theory was developed based on the transition theory, a review of the relevant literature, and a study on Asian immigrant women's menopausal symptom experiences in the U.S. The proposed theory includes transition conditions, patterns of response, and nursing therapeutics as major concepts and explains the relationships among these major concepts. This theory should be further validated and developed in intervention studies and nursing practice with this specific population.

Reliability and Validity of the Menopausal Symptom Scale

“…In the present study, Korean menopausal women reported rather low levels of menopausal symptoms, supporting previous study results. Previous studies have reported that Asian women display lower severity scores and experience fewer menopausal symptoms than do Western women (Haines et al 2005;Im 2010). Among the four dimensions, physical symptoms were most severe and the vasomotor symptom score was the lowest, consistent with the existing study results.…”

Correlates of Hepatitis B Virus Health‐Related Behaviors of Korean Americans: A Situation‐Specific Nursing Theory

“…Situation‐specific theories, in contrast, do serve as the evidence required for direct development of practice guidelines and prescriptions for interventions for particular populations. Given the increased emphasis on evidence‐based practice protocols by healthcare team members, recognition of the value of situation‐specific theories and support for their development has been increasing (see, for example, Im, 2010; Lee, Hann, Yang, & Fawcett, 2011).…”

“…Almost two thirds of chronically infected AAPIs residing in the United States are unaware of their infection status because they have not been screened for HBV or for liver cancer (Lee et al, 2008; Ma, Shive, Wang, & Tan, 2009), indicating a major need for screening in healthcare settings so that appropriate interventions can be provided (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008). Furthermore, findings from studies targeting Asian Americans have revealed that the rate of HBV vaccination is low, ranging from 17% to 38% (Bastani, Glem, Maxwell, & Jo, 2007; Lee et al, 2008), and that only 6% to 30% of Asian Americans are offered vaccinations or HBV screenings (IOM, 2010; Lee, Lee, Kim, Hontz, & Warner, 2007). These data indicate that vaccination to prevent HBV lags significantly behind the Healthy People 2020 goal of a 90% vaccination rate for high‐risk populations (U.S.…”

“…Situation-specific theories, in contrast, do serve as the evidence required for direct development of practice guidelines and prescriptions for interventions for particular populations. Given the increased emphasis on evidence-based practice protocols by healthcare team members, recognition of the value of situation-specific theories and support for their development has been increasing (see, for example, Im, 2010;Lee, Hann, Yang, & Fawcett, 2011).Meleis (2012) explained that situation-specific theories "are closer [than conceptual models, grand theories, and middle-range theories] to the clinical realities of caring for clients, as well as reflective of variations in the contexts and situations of populations" (p. 419). Situation-specific theories may be developed through the use of an Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2012; 44:4, 315-322.…”

Clinically Identified Postpartum Depression in Asian American Mothers

“…Transition theory has been used as a guiding framework in several studies examining the human experience of life changes or changes in environment including research focused on developing nursing interventions to support adults recovering from major depression (Skärsäter & Willman, 2006), transition to motherhood in African American women (Sawyer, 1999), and the experiences of Asian and Korean immigrant women going through menopause (Im, 2010; Im & Meleis, 1999). …”