“My little secret”, a website for sexual health of postmenopausal women

Introduction: Internet represents a great opportunity for health
information. Recent researchshowsthatwomenare themainusers,
especially if they suffer from chronic diseases. Sexual health is one
of the hot topic, but menopausal well-being is of great interest
in general. Vulvar and vaginal atrophy (VVA) is part of the genitourinary
syndrome of menopause and its negative impact on
sexuality and quality of life of women and couples is increasingly
acknowledged. However, VVA signs and symptoms are underreported
and undertreated. In here, we report our experience with
a website specifically designed to inform about postmenopausal
sexual health.
Materials: “My little secret” is an Italian website dedicated
to menopause with a specific focus on VVA. It comprises several
sections: general information, find an expert gynecologist, useful
resources, glossary and blog. A video section with an expert
reporting real stories and tips to overcome barriers to discuss the
topic of VVA is also present. Partnerships and social networks have
been set up to disseminate the contents of this site. The blogging
activity started in November 2016, the target were menopausal
women with an age between 50 and 65 years and a mediumhigh
level of education. Four articles per month are released on
the following topics: Vaginal Atrophy; Well-being and Menopause;
Menopause and Couple Life; Dryness and other intimate symptoms.
Results: The website has received 1.053.314 visits between
December 2017 and December 2018; the most clicked pages
are vaginal atrophy (220.465 visualizations), cycle alteration
(pain, bleeding) across the menopause (192.402 visualizations),
breast pain (40836 visualizations), what to do when symptoms
occur (19.212 visualizations), painful sexual intercourse (16.597
visualizations), etc. The search page of the gynecologist concerned
11% of the total visits (143.128). The video section the
“Expert responds” has received 7.089 views over the last months
(October 2018–December 2018), with 16.781 minutes of video
visualization.
Discussion: The number of visits on the website “My little
secret” confirms the data in the literature on the needs for more
information regarding sexual health and, more in general, wellbeing
in menopausal women. It also confirms the accessibility and
easy consultation of a specific dedicated website, which may help
women to gather reliable information helping a comfortable conversation
with ob/gyns and other menopause specialists without
replacing them.