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영어

The purpose of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of the meaningful life experiences of middle-aged women and comprehensively examine the results of those experiences by systematically comparing, analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing qualitative research results that explore middle-aged women’s life experiences including menopause, climacteric, and aging. Meta-ethnography proposed by Noblit and Hare was used for qualitative meta-synthesis. The literature was searched in domestic databases: DataBase Periodical Information Academic (DBpia), Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), ScienceON, National Assembly Digital Library, Korean studies Information Service System (KISS), and Korea Citation Index (KCI). Search terms included ‘middle-aged women,’ ‘life,’ ‘menopause,’ ‘menopause symptoms,’ ‘climacteric,’ ‘aging,’ ‘change,’ ‘perception,’ and ‘adaptation.’ Finally, 13 qualitative studies were analyzed and synthesized. The central experience of Korean middle-aged women’s lives was ‘internal growth and reinterpretation of the meanings of life’, and four themes were derived: ‘understanding of and active responses to physical changes’, ‘acceptance of and internal reflection on emotional changes and active responses to them’, ‘reestablishment of interpersonal relationships with important people centered on family and efforts to adapt to changed relationships’, and ‘reestablishment of self-identity and taking control of life’. The significance of this study is that it reveals that middle-aged women view the changes and challenges in various aspects of life they face in middle age as opportunities for internal growth, discover new meaning and value, and lead their own lives proactively.