Research information: Productivity and self-worth in menopause-related experiences: cases from Finland and Estonia, including digital spaces (2025-2033, Meeri Ott)


Hello!

This announcement provides up-to-date information about the research “Productivity and self-worth in menopause-related experiences: cases from Finland and Estonia, including digital spaces” (2025-2033) and Your possible involvement in it.

Please read this announcment carefully. If you have any questions, contact the researcher or the primary dissertation advisor (contact information is provided at the end of the document).

The aim of the study is to examine how different societal assumptions about productivity influence people’s experiences of menopause and their self-worth. Neoliberal societies often equate person’s value with their economic productivity and individual achievements.
This research focuses on queer and disabled communities in Finland and Estonia. The study explores how menopause, productivity assumptions, and self-worth are discussed in social media, discussion forums, and other media. Additionally, the researcher examines menopause-related decision-making through legal and administrative documents.

The study aims to increase knowledge and discourse on these topics. A 2024 survey by Finnish private healthcare company Terveystalo found that 77% of respondents felt that menopause is not discussed enough (More in Finnish: Vaihdevuosista on puhuttava | Terveystalo). This research will highlight that menopause is not just a one-time crisis or a negative life event, it can also be an educational and even empowering process. However, society often perceives menopause as a deviation from the so-called “normal” which typically is synonymous with “fertile”, “young”, and “able”.

The research examines how menopause resonates or challenges contemporary societal views of productivity and fulfilling life. To do this, the study employs theories from intersectional feminism, queer and crip studies, and disability studies. Both queer and crip theories provide radical perspectives on the concept of normalcy, showing how boundaries between sickness and health, abnormal and normal, acceptable and inadequate, are constantly shifting and evolving.
The scientific goal of this research is to generate new knowledge about marginalised groups that have been studied too little. The societal goal is to contribute to the well-being of all individuals experiencing menopause, regardless of whether they belong to queer or disabled communities.


Data Collection


Interviews

Part of the research data will be collected through life-course interviews. Participation in both the interviews and the study is always voluntary. The interview phase will begin in 2025 and continue until the end of 2026.

Participants are invited if they:

  • Are over 18 years old
  • Speak Finnish, Estonian, or English
  • Have first-hand experience with menopause
  • Identify as part of the queer and/or disabled community
  • Can voluntarily and knowledgeably consent to participate in the interview

The interviews will focus on personal experiences of menopause, productivity, and self-worth. No special preparation is required before the interview.

Interviews will be conducted either in person or via Zoom video call. Each interview will last approximately 60 minutes. Some participants may be interviewed twice, with follow-up interviews agreed upon during the initial discussion or later via email. Follow-up interviews provide an opportunity for deeper reflection, as participants may after the first interview notice more how discussed themes affects their lives. However, even a single interview is valuable for the research, so participation does not require committing to multiple interviews!
If you choose to participate, you will be asked to consent separately to an audio recording of the interview, which will later be transcribed into a pseudonymized text file. Participants will receive a link via email or text message to select a suitable interview time. If necessary, scheduling can also be arranged via email or phone.

At any point, if a question feels too personal, You may choose not to answer. Participation in this research is completely voluntary, and You can stop participating at any time without any negative consequences. More details about your rights and data management are provided below. No additional personal data beyond the interview will be collected.

A summary of the study’s findings will be sent to interview participants once the research is completed.


Social Media and Discussion Forums

Part of the research data will be collected from social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) and discussion forums (e.g., Finnish Vauva.fi or Estonian discussion forum Naistekas). These platforms will provide user discussions, including initial posts (such as forum threads and posts to specific groups) and related comments. The collected data will consist of screenshots and textual data and will not include identifiable web credentials.

This research announcement will be updated once data collection begins. Upon starting collection, the announcement will detail all platforms from which data is gathered. The researcher will adhere to the terms of use of each platform and respect any copyright regulations relevant to content and its creators.

Whenever possible, the researcher will inform individuals personally about the research. If personal information isn’t possible, for example due to the large number of group members, the researcher will leave a message in the group or discussion thread explaining the research project and providing contact details, the project’s website, and information on how individuals can opt out of participation. Participation in the study is voluntary, and individuals may object to the processing of their data, withdraw from the study, or revoke consent at any stage. The project’s website will always contain the latest information about the research.

A summary of the final research results will be sent to those who have provided personal consent for the use of their social media posts. Such individuals may be private users or accounts focusing on topics such as gynaecology or menopause – they will be asked if they want to have their name/username included in the study as it can be beneficial for them as well. In these cases, the researcher may request direct permission from individual social media users to use their posts. Content published on personal accounts (e.g., a private Facebook page or Instagram profile) will only be used if the researcher has informed the individual personally about the study.


What Are My Rights Regarding the Collected Data?


If data about You has been collected or if you suspect that Your data may have been included (for example, if You have posted material in a group or discussion forum from which data was collected), You have the following rights under data protection regulations:

  • obtain information on the processing of Your personal data
  • access data concerning Yourself
  • rectify any data concerning Yourself
  • restrict the processing of Your data
  • the controller’s obligation to notify about the rectification of personal data or the restriction of their processing
  • object to the processing of personal data
  • not be subject to automated decision-making without legal basis
  • file a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman if You believe that Your personal data has been processed in breach of data protection legislation

If You revoke your consent, any data collected before Your withdrawal may still be used in the research, but no new data will be processed for research purposes. Please note that a participant’s contributions that have already been analysed or published in the study cannot be retrospectively removed.

If the processing of personal data in the research does not require the identification of the data subject without additional data and the controller is unable to identify the data subject, the right to access, rectify, erase and restrict the use of personal data, as well as any notification obligations do not apply.

Choosing not to participate in the study will not result in any negative consequences for You. Participation is entirely voluntary. You can exercise Your rights by contacting the controller.


Possible Benefits and Risks for Participants


The knowledge generated by this research may help participants better understand their own menopause experiences, as well as the societal attitudes and assumptions surrounding them.
This research is not expected to cause harm to individuals. However, material collected from social media and discussion forums may cause distress to individuals who did not intend for their original posts to be publicly scrutinised. In such cases, every effort will be made to minimise any potential harm.

No monetary compensation is provided for participation in the study.


Legal Basis, Data Management, and Confidentiality

  • The controller of the research material is the University of Eastern Finland (Itä-Suomen Yliopisto, UEF).
  • The UEF Committee on Research Ethics has issued a favourable statement regarding the research
  • The study processes the following special categories of personal data: health data, data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation
  • The research materials include the following personal data: the aforementioned special categories, full name, voice, phone number, email address, gender, age, and username.


The processing of personal data always requires a legal basis defined by law. In this study, the basis of processing is scientific research. The research material collected about You will be processed confidentially as required by legislation.

The personal data will not be disclosed or transferred outside the research team, which consists of doctoral researcher Meeri Ott and her dissertations supervisors Aija Lulle, Pauliina Lukinmaa, and Touko Vaahtera. Data will not be transferred outside the EU or EEA. Personal data collected in the research will not be used for automated decision-making. The research data are managed in accordance with TENK’s guidelines on good scientific practices and stored securely with encryption.

Data containing personal information is pseudonymised, meaning encoding that removes direct identifiers from the data to maximise security. The data is analysed in an encoded form, and the results are reported in a way that an individual person cannot be identified without a decryption key. A key code that can be used to identify the data and results of an individual research participant is stored by the researcher and is not given to persons outside the research.
Additional security measures for processing special categories of personal data include: a research plan, a data management plan, a privacy statement, and a data protection impact assessment.

If desired, participants may request more information about the legal basis of the research, data management, and confidentiality by contacting researcher Meeri Ott via email.


Data Processing, Storage, Publication, Transfer, and Deletion


Research data will be stored for research purposes from 01.06.2025 – 31.12.2033, on a UEF-secured disk server, which only the researcher has access to. All research data will be kept for at least five years after the dissertation is completed to allow for verification, except for original interview recordings, which will be deleted immediately after transcription and review of the transcription. After the defined period, all data will be permanently erased from the disk server.

Social media and discussion forum materials, as well as interview transcripts, will be pseudonymised. Identifying information will be stored separately in a locked place, accessible only to the researcher. The researcher retains access to identifiers, and new data may be linked to previous materials. However, analyses will be conducted using only indirect identifiers.
Research findings will be reported in Finnish, Estonian, and English through scientific and general-interest journals, seminars, and the project’s “Menopausing: Exploring diversity, awareness and activism” webpage. Direct quotations or excerpts from social media or discussion forums will never be used in the dissertation, publications, or presentations unless explicit consent from the original content creator has been obtained. Research findings will always be presented in a way that ensures participants’ anonymity. If data are quoted, excerpts will be fabricated to prevent their findability via platform-specific or search engine queries.

A more accessible publication summarising the research may be written after the dissertation is completed.

After the study ends, research data without personal data will be archived for future research, teaching, and study purposes. Decisions regarding data retention will be made at the end of the project.


Related Institutions


This doctoral research is conducted by Meeri Ott and it will result in a dissertation. Ott is completing her PhD studies at the Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies, University of Eastern Finland. Her primary field of study is human geography, also referred to as cultural geography, which examines the relationship between phenomena, places, and spaces, and how they move with people across different areas.

The dissertation supervisors are:

  • Aija Lulle, Associate Professor at UEF, Department of History and Geography
  • Pauliina Lukinmaa, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Humanities
  • Touko Vaahtera, Academy Research Fellow at the Department of Social Sciences


The research is part of a project “Menopausing: Exploring diversity, awareness, and activism” (2024–2028), led by Aija Lulle and funded by the Research Council of Finland. Research progress reports will be submitted to the funding agency.


Research Contact Information


For any inquiries, participants may contact the researcher or the primary dissertation supervisor via email. For urgent matters, phone calls are also available. Participants can come forward with any concerns arising during the research process.

Doctoral Researcher Meeri Ott: meeri.ott[at]uef.fi, University of Eastern Finland, Department of History and Geography

Primary Dissertation Supervisor Aija Lulle: aija.lulle[at]uef.fi
Other Dissertation Supervisors Pauliina Lukinmaa, Touko Vaahtera
Data Protection Officer Helena Eronen: tietosuoja[at]uef.fi