Challenges of Living With Endometriosis and Possible Solutions

A multidisciplinary approach is a must in managing women with endometriosis, study highlights.

Key Points

Highlights: 

• A new study identified the challenges that women with endometriosis face living with the disease.

Importance:

• Identifying these challenges can help women living with the disease achieve a balanced life with endometriosis. 

What's done here:

• Researchers conducted focus group discussions with 21 women with endometriosis, ages 27 to 37.

Key results:

• The lack of information about endometriosis and the uncertainty that the disease causes negatively impact the lives of women living with the disease.
• A supporting doctor-patient relationship, active coping strategies, and social support can help patients overcome the difficulties caused by endometriosis. 

Limitations:

• The study only included 21 women who were similar demographically and in terms of disease characteristics. 
• The data were collected retrospectively.
• The study did not assess the impact of different surgical methods on patients’ quality of life.
• Mostly, women with active coping strategies and an optimistic attitude applied and took part in the study.
• The discussions were held using pre-determined questions, which could have influenced the outcomes.

Lay Summary

A new study published in the scientific journal BMC Women's Health reviewed the challenges of living with endometriosis and possible solutions for women with the disease.

The findings of the study highlight the need for a multidisciplinary approach to treating women with endometriosis. 

“To achieve this goal, a collaboration of professionals, psychologists, and support organizations is needed in the near future,” wrote first author Gabriella Márki and the co-authors of the study, for which a team of medical and psychological specialists conducted a total of four focus group discussions with 21 women with endometriosis, ages 27 to 37 whose disease was confirmed surgically and histologically.

When the researchers analyzed the findings that emerged from the discussions, they identified four main themes. These were the impact of endometriosis on women’s quality of life, the patients’ medical experiences, complementary and alternative treatments, and the different coping strategies that they adopt to manage their disease.  The different themes were related to each other and were highly affected by the lack of information about endometriosis and the uncertainty that the disease causes. 

The discussions also found that a supporting doctor-patient relationship, the use of active coping strategies, and social support provided advantages to overcoming the difficulties caused by the disease. 

“Finding the positive meaning of life after accepting endometriosis increased the possibility of posttraumatic growth,” the researchers wrote.  They said that an ecological approach, a model that can help provide a complete perspective of the factors affecting specific health behaviors, is necessary at all levels. Based on their findings, the team provided recommendations to allow women with endometriosis to live a balanced life with the disease. These include: 

• Cooperation between healthcare professionals, psychologists, and support organizations to provide care and find possible solutions to the needs of women with endometriosis
• Improved communication and the recognition of psychosocial problems that women with endometriosis face by health care providers to ensure that empathetic care is provided
• Evidence-based answers about the efficiency of alternative and complementary therapies to decrease the uncertainty and lack of information about endometriosis
• Increased knowledge and awareness about endometriosis among healthcare providers and the general public to reduce diagnostic delay
• Health promotion programs and support groups to facilitate coping strategies and posttraumatic growth in women with the disease

Research Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35081940/