Description of estrogen therapy in older women of middle or upper income in a retirement community in the Southwest

Abstract

The population today is getting older, leading to increases in the number of women in the postmenopausal stage of life. The fact that women in the United States have an average life expectancy of 79 years, means that approximately one third of a woman's life will be spent after menopause (Odom, Carr, & MacDonald, 1990). For nurses working with older populations, estrogen replacement therapy is a common issue to confront. It is of considerable concern then that more knowledge be obtained on HRT and on characteristics of those women who elect to use it. The purpose of this study was to describe the profile of one group of older, middle-income women, on estrogen replacement therapy. In this study, premarin is the most common method of estrogen replacement therapy. A majority of the sample practiced the health promotion behaviors of no smoking, limited fat intake and regular exercise. Approximately 85% (n = 41) of the sample had a papanicolaou smear within the past two years, 92% (n = 44) had a mammogram within the past one year and 59% performed occasional breast self exam.