Participant Letter
Dear Participant,
Researchers in the Occupational Therapy Department at Russell Sage College, Chris Mulligan, Wendy Gaughan, Marybeth Hoefs, and Binghamton University, Bonnie Fischer-Camara, invite you to take part in a study about how perimenopause affects daily life, work, and activities that matter to you. Perimenopause is a normal stage of life that can bring changes like fatigue, trouble sleeping, mood shifts, hot flashes, and problems with concentration. While doctors are aware of many of these symptoms, we know less about how they impact your daily routines, work, and the things you enjoy. Our study hopes to learn more about these experiences.
If you decide to join, you will complete one confidential online survey that takes about 8-10 minutes. The survey questions will ask about:
· Menopause-related symptoms, fatigue, and sleep
· Work and home roles
· Satisfaction with daily activities.
You can skip any questions you do not want to answer and stop at any time without any penalty. The risks are minimal, but you might feel a little uncomfortable when answering questions about symptoms. After the survey, you can choose to provide your email address to be considered for a 30-minute virtual interview to discuss your experiences further.
You will not get a direct benefit from joining, but your answers will help us better understand how midlife changes affect daily life. This could help improve healthcare support for women going through perimenopause in the future.
You will create a unique code in SurveyMonkey that contains no identifying information. If you decide to join the interview, we will record your responses and then delete the recording. Only the research team will see the study data.
This research has received approval from the Russell Sage College Institutional Review Board #1486-2025-2026, which is responsible for ensuring the protection of human participants’ rights. If you, as a participant, have any complaints about this study, please contact:
Dr. Theresa Hand
Provost
Russell Sage College
65 1st Street
Troy, New York 12180
518-244-2069
handt@sage.edu