Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 34127 on Pain: Women, whether the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is undertaking any research into (a) patient and (b) healthcare professionals' experiences of (i) menopause care and (ii) the prescription of hormone replacement therapy.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is currently funding a £2.7 million study that aims to find out if adding testosterone to standard hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can reduce menopausal symptoms beyond its effect on sexual function. This research will provide health care professionals with the evidence required to have informed discussions with their patients and will help to shape and inform better menopause care for women. A separate study is exploring inequalities in menopause care. Through interviews with women and with healthcare professionals in general practice, this research aims to understand the experiences of obtaining information, care, and support for the menopause in general practice.

The NIHR is also currently funding research to determine whether there are ethnic and social disparities in HRT prescribing in the United Kingdom. This information will inform future work to develop a risk calculator to show a woman’s individual risks or benefits from taking HRT, providing the first UK data on women who are taking HRT, which will identify a cohort who are not taking HRT and estimate a potential unmet need.

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of women’s health, including research on patient and health care professionals’ experiences of menopause care and on the prescription of HRT.