Quelles sont les connaissances des femmes en âge de procréer sur l'endométriose ? Comment améliorer l'information délivrée par les médecins généralistes ?

Introduction: Endometriosis, a disabling disease that is difficult to diagnose, is thought to affect 10% of women of childbearing age. General practitioners, along with gynecologists, play an essential role in its diagnosis. The aims of this study were to assess the knowledge of women of childbearing age without endometriosis about endometriosis, and to examine ways of improving the information provided by general practitioners about this pathology.Material and methods: An online questionnaire was sent to women aged between 18 and 50 who were free of the disease. 104 responses were analyzed, focusing on women's knowledge and information channels concerning the pathology.Results: Less than 10% of patients did not know how to define endometriosis, while 25% gave a detailed definition. The most suggestive symptoms, such as pain during menstruation, were almost always cited, while other functional signs were only known by less than half the population studied. Three-quarters of the women surveyed had been informed of the condition by the media and their friends and family. The majority of participants felt that social networks were the best medium for informing women about the condition.Conclusion: Endometriosis appears to be a fairly well-known disease among the women in this sample of endometriosis-free patients. Women were mainly informed via their friends and family, social networks and the internet. However, the disease is still under-diagnosed, and there is a significant delay in diagnosis. The creation of information content by GPs, disseminated via new media and aimed at women in the general population, could help reduce the time taken to diagnose the disease and improve its management.