How Menopause Is Framed: Linguistic Influences on Clinical Recognition and Care A Critical Narrative Review

Objective: To synthesise qualitative evidence on how linguistic framing within healthcare encounters influences clinical recognition, attribution, and care pathways for women experiencing menopause and perimenopause. Methods: A critical narrative review with scoping elements was conducted from December 2025 to January 2026. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO using terms relating to menopause, communication, discourse, framing, dismissal and stigma. Qualitative and mixed-methods studies reporting patient experiences of menopause-related healthcare encounters with explicit reference to communication or framing were included. Findings were synthesised using an interpretive framework informed by interactional linguistics, epistemic injustice theory, and literature on gendered diagnostic bias.