What is this thing called hormone replacement therapy? Discursive construction of medication in situated practice.

The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) involves complex decisions for mid-aged women owing to controversy about the meaning of menopause and uncertainty regarding risks and benefits. Qualitative studies show that women can hold apparently contradictory beliefs, for example, both resisting and relying on medicalization. Focus group data (48 participants) and discourse analysis theorizing were used to investigate the complex discursive field available to women to construct HRTand to explain apparent contradictions. Interpretative repertoires identified in this study (threatening change, natural, biomedical, and drug) support previous findings. It is not contradictory to use different repertoires to achieve different discursive acts. The application of these findings to the development of decision tools that help women to arrive at individually appropriate decisions is discussed.