Priorities for menopausal health literacy-related educational content among pre/perimenopausal and postmenopausal women

Menopausal health literacy (MHL) is essential for supporting effective self-management during the menopausal transition. However, little is known about MHL-related educational priorities according to menopausal status. This study examined discrepancies between perceived educational need and performance for MHL-related educational content and identified priority content for MHL-based self-management interventions separately within the pre/perimenopausal and postmenopausal groups. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 192 community-dwelling Korean women aged 45–55 years, including 123 pre/perimenopausal and 69 postmenopausal women. Participants rated their perceived performance and educational need for 31 MHL-related educational content items organized according to the three HLS-EU health domains: healthcare, disease prevention, and health promotion. Educational priorities were identified using Borich’s needs assessment and the Locus for Focus model. Few participants had prior experience with MHL-based self-management interventions, although intention to participate was high in both groups. Within each group, perceived educational need was significantly higher than perceived performance for all 31 MHL-related educational content items after Holm–Bonferroni correction (all adjusted p < .050). Borich’s needs assessment and the Locus for Focus model identified several common high-priority content areas across groups, including MHL-related content concerning cognitive symptoms, professional assistance and healthcare facilities, and prevention of psychosocial and musculoskeletal problems. Within the pre/perimenopausal group, priority MHL-related content included hormone therapy, psychosocial symptoms and management, and cardiovascular disease management and prevention. Within the postmenopausal group, MHL-related content concerning vasomotor and urogenital symptoms was among the priority areas. Overall, high-priority content areas were concentrated in the healthcare and disease prevention domains. Middle-aged women demonstrated substantial unmet educational needs for MHL-related content, with high-priority contents concentrated in the healthcare and disease prevention domains. The within-group findings showed overlapping priority content areas, while some priorities were identified in only one of the two groups, suggesting that future MHL-based self-management interventions may combine shared core content with flexible content responsive to the priorities identified within each group.