Dr. Lynnette Leidy Sievert (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), Dr. Laura Huicochea (El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Campeche, Mexico), and Dr. Daniel E. Brown (University of Hawaii, Hilo) will undertake research on cross-cultural variability of menopausal symptoms as reported and as measured bio-metrically for women at midlife. The goal is to better understand how women perceive and report symptoms in the context of social and material conditions, belief systems, and cultural institutions. The study will compare symptoms at midlife across rural Mayan women, rural Mestizo women (of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry) living in the state of Campeche, and Mayan and Mestizo women living in the city of Campeche, Mexico. One of the most cited studies of menopause among the Maya, carried out in the 1980s, reported a zero prevalence of hot flashes. The aims of this study are to compare (1) symptom reports across Mayan and Mestizo groups living in rural and urban communities; (2) the frequency of biometrically measured hot flashes across the same groups; and (3) the level of concordance between symptom report and biometric measurement. For example, rural Mayan women may not report hot flashes on questionnaires, but may show (via ambulatory monitoring) sweating consistent with hot flashes.
The study is distinctive in its integration of in-depth interviews with semi-structured questionnaires, biomarkers of stress, and biometric methods to better understand the experience and perception of symptom experience. If the results of this study show that the lived experience and report of hot flashes is shaped by cultural context, then differences in lived experience explain variation in cross-cultural hot flash reports. In addition, we will better understand how women can improve their health, and their perception of health, in precarious conditions. The results of the proposed research will inform local community and health care providers about the experiences of Mayan and Mestizo women at midlife. Funding this research, which is provided by both the NSF Cultural Anthropology Program and the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering, also supports formalizes an international collaboration.
