Background: Despite an abundance of
information regarding menopausal women in western society, African menopausal
women have been overlooked in menopausal research, particularly, where they find information regarding menopause. Since inadequate health-related knowledge on menopause negatively affects
the understanding of and coping with menopause and related symptoms, it is
important to determine where women in Africa obtain their information about
menopause. Aim: To conduct a systematic review to identify and analyse
information sources consulted by menopausal women in the African region
regarding the management of menopausal symptoms. Method: PubMed, Embase
(OVID), Google Scholar, Medline (OVID), Medline in Process (OVID), Scopus, https://www.africabib.org/, African Index Medicus; http://indexmedicus.afro.who.
int/,and African Journals Online (AJOL) were searched for publications from
January 2000 to April 2017. Fourteen studies met the eligibility criteria.
Twelve were quantitative while two were qualitative. Studies were independently
appraised by two researchers using checklists from the Centre for Evidence-Based
Management. Results: Meta-analysis explored the prevalence of different
information sources reported with friends being the highest (44%, 95% CI: [0.35, 0.54]) followed by relatives (35%, 95% CI:
[0.22, 0.50]) with medical providers being sources of information for only 30%
of participants (95% CI: [0.15, 0.50]). Conclusion: Information
regarding menopause among African women emanated primarily from friends and
relatives, suggesting that women perceive menopause as a natural process
whereby information is the best gleaned from
informal sources. However, health care should aim to increase public awareness
of menopause education and strengthen efforts to provide accurate, timely and
helpful information for women and their friends and families.