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The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships of multiple factors to menopausal symptoms in different racial/ethnic groups of midlife women. This secondary analysis was conducted with the data from 980 midlife women that were collected from 2005 to 2013 using the MidlifeWomen's Symptom Index. Structural equationmodeling was used to analyze the data. The model had the highest fit indices for non-Hispanic (NH) White midlife women, and prominent racial/ethnic differences were observed in the relationships of multiple factors to menopausal symptoms. In all racial/ethnic groups (except in Hispanic women), perceived health status was significantly positively associated with menopausal symptoms (β = -0.149 for NH African- American; β = -0.207 for NH Asians; β = -0.162 for NH Whites). Body mass indexwas significantly positively associated withmenopausal symptoms only in NH Asians (β = 0.118) and Hispanics (β = 0.210). The racial/ ethnic differences in the relationships of multiple factors to menopausal symptoms could have resulted from the different cultural contexts in which women undergo during their menopausal transitions. Further cultural studies on the associations of racial/ethnic-specific factors with menopausal symptoms would help in understanding possible causes for racial/ethnic differences in the factors significantly associated with menopausal symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored the attitudes of women at midlife to web-based interventions for promoting physical activity. 145 women volunteered to participate in one of four online forums. The forums were for four major racial/ethnic groups. 90 volunteers were recruited for the online forums (29 Whites, 23 Hispanics, 21 African Americans, and 17 Asians). Two sets of topics on attitudes to physical activity and racial/ethnic contexts were used. Each topic had some introductory questions and related prompts, and these were posted on the online forum sites in a serial fashion during the six-month period. We used a thematic analysis. Four major themes emerged: (1) 'a matter of the source of the information'; (2) 'I can pace myself'; (3) 'lack of interpersonal interactions'; and (4) 'culture-specificity and low cost.' The women in all ethnic groups thought that the source of the information was much more important than the medium of the information (e.g. web-based, booklet or face-to-face). They liked the self-controllability in web-based interventions. They preferred web-based interventions to other types of interventions because of easy accessibility, but they were concerned about lack of interpersonal interaction. None of the White or African American women indicated the need for culture-specificity in web-based interventions, but Hispanic and Asian women indicated that culture-specific interventions should be provided. Web-based interventions appear to have several advantages over conventional approaches to promoting physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a survey exploring ethnic differences in midlife women's attitudes toward physical activity and determining the relationships between the attitudes and their actual participation in physical activity. The results revealed significant ethnic differences in the attitude scores, but no ethnic differences in the physical activity scores and ethnic differences in the women's attitudes toward physical activity need to be considered in promoting physical activity of midlife women.

Purpose: To describe strategies for enhancing information, motivation, and skills related to changes in diabetes self-management behavior among community-dwelling older adults in Korea. Patients and methods: A total of five focus group interviews (three separate focus groups) were conducted with 12 older adults with type 2 diabetes and five diabetes educators. Qualitative content analysis was used. Results: "One's own willingness and ability" emerged as a fundamental belief about the strategies for diabetes self-management. Six major themes under three categories were identified. Under the information category, the recurrent themes were: 1) repeatedly offering detailed knowledge regarding self-management, 2) providing information about current health status, and 3) identifying experiential knowledge of blood glucose control. The recurrent themes in the motivation category were: 1) ensuring a positive attitude regarding self-management, and 2) encouragement or feedback from significant others. Furthermore, in the skills category, we found that the following theme emerged: hands-on skills training with numerical standards. Conclusion: This study identified six tailored strategies for enhancing information, motivation, and skills for diabetes self-management behavior changes. These strategies can be used in the development of a culturally sensitive diabetes self-management program for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]