title: Experience of Late-Middle-Aged Women who Reside in Small and Medium-Sized Cities in Becoming Psychologically Mature Women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to search the inner world of postmenopausal women in late-middle age who are facing senescence and live in small and medium-sized cities.
  
  
  METHODS
  The methods of the study were the investigation and classification of answers to questions according to a declarative ethnography analysis. The questions asked to late-middle-aged women living in small and medium-sized cities were "How do you interpret and recognize the changes in the body after menopause?" and "Which methods do you choose and practice to maintain your health in relation to aging during middle age?".
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four positive topics and two negative topics were drawn from the study. The four positive themes were: ambition; completion of a great mission; life with a sense of affection; and gratitude for maintaining health. The negative themes were: undulating emotion; and filling the emptiness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The recognition of changes in the body after menopause in late-middle-aged women in small and medium-sized cities can affect their preparation processes towards senescence. It is critical to find the means to manage emergency health cases from early adulthood to middle age, based on the outcomes of the study. The study also emphasizes the importance of the woman's family's alternative strategies and supportive systems, which can fit into the cultural context of the community.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Pukyung National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Euna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Kyungnam University, Changwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Haeok
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: ethnography; experience of menopause; middle-aged women; small and medium-sized cities