Dr Angela Stojanoska1, Associate Professor Nahal Mavaddat1, Associate Professor Jacqueline Frayne1
1The University of Western Australia, Australia
Biography:
Dr Angela Stojanoska is a 2026 RACGP Academic Post Registrar currently working in a GP clinic in outer metropolitan Perth while serving as an Associate Lecturer at The University of Western Australia. She graduated from The University of Notre Dame Medical School in 2021 and completed her hospital training in various sites in Western Australia. Her academic post research focuses on perimenopause and mental health perspectives, aiming to enhance the quality of mental health consultations for GPs and women, reflecting her passion for research, women’s health, and education.
Background:
General practitioners (GPs) manage both mental health concerns and symptoms of perimenopause, however, understanding how GPs in Australia manage perimenopausal mental health concerns specifically has not been addressed. This is vital as women aged 50–54 years have the highest suicide rate among Australian women. Further, perimenopause, the transition to menopause, is often associated with mood changes and emotional lability and increasing mental health vulnerability.
Aims:
Our study aims to explore how GPs screen and manage perimenopausal mental health symptoms, and to explore perimenopausal women’s experiences of mental health care consultations.
Methods:
A qualitative study of around twelve GPs and twelve women will occur utilising semi-structured interviews via Microsoft Teams. Interviews will be recorded, transcribed, and undergo inductive thematic analysis to identify emerging themes around perimenopausal mental health care.
Results:
Data collection is ongoing; results will be presented.
Implications:
Novel insights into how Australian GPs manage mental health during perimenopause and how women experience these consultations will be provided. These findings have potential to help shape a comprehensive framework to support GPs and reduce the mental health burden of perimenopause.