Effect of a family-centered empowerment model-based educational intervention on quality of life in women with endometriosis: a randomized controlled trial

Background Endometriosis substantially impairs disease-specific quality of life across physical, psychological, and social domains, yet evidence regarding family-centered empowerment interventions remains limited. This study evaluated the effect of a family-centered empowerment model-based intervention on patient-reported quality-of-life outcomes measured using the Endometriosis Health Profile-30 (EHP-30) in women with endometriosis.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 64 women with clinically and ultrasonographically confirmed endometriosis referred to a specialized clinic in Mashhad, Iran. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 32) receiving a 12-week family-centered empowerment program or a control group (n = 32) receiving routine care. The primary outcome was endometriosis-specific quality of life measured using the five core EHP-30 domains (Pain, Control and Powerlessness, Emotional Well-being, Social Support, and Self-image), assessed at baseline and 12 weeks after baseline. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) adjusted for baseline scores, with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons (p < 0.01).

Baseline characteristics were comparable between groups (all p > 0.05). After the intervention, ANCOVA revealed significant improvements in the intervention group across all five EHP-30 domains, all of which remained statistically significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons: Pain (adjusted mean difference: −8.87, 95% CI: −13.02 to − 4.72, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.22), Control and Powerlessness (− 5.36, 95% CI: −7.41 to − 3.31, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.31), Emotional Well-being (− 6.71, 95% CI: −9.38 to − 4.04, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.29), Social Support (− 4.79, 95% CI: −6.93 to − 2.65, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.25), and Self-image (− 2.70, 95% CI: −3.93 to − 1.47, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.22). The largest effect sizes were observed in the Control and Powerlessness and Emotional Well-being domains.

Family-centered empowerment-based education was associated with improved patient-reported endometriosis-specific quality of life across all five EHP-30 domains compared with routine care. These findings support further evaluation of this intervention in larger multicenter trials with longer follow-up to determine the durability, clinical relevance, and generalizability of the observed benefits. Trial registration Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials, IRCT20220720055505N1. Registered on 31 July 2022. Similar content being viewed by others Abbreviations - ANCOVA: - Analysis of Covariance - BMI: - Body Mass Index - CONSORT: - Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials - EHP-30: - Endometriosis Health Profile-30 - FCEM: - Family-Centered Empowerment Model - IRCT: - Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials - RCT: - Randomized Controlled Trial - SNOSE: - Sequentially Numbered, Opaque, Sealed Envelopes, Opaque, Sealed Envelopes

This manuscript was derived from a Master’s thesis in Reproductive Health at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Vice-Chancellor for Research of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences for financial and institutional support of this study. We also sincerely thank the staff and managers of the Women’s Clinic of Imam Reza Hospital (A.S.), Mashhad, Iran, for their cooperation and assistance in facilitating data collection and implementation of the intervention. Finally, we deeply appreciate all women who participated in this study for their time, trust, and valuable contributions. Funding This study was financially supported by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS), Vice Chancellor for Research, Mashhad, Iran. Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Ethics declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (ethics code: IR.MUMS.NURSE.REC.1401.032) and registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20220720055505N1). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants and their spouses prior to enrollment. Participants were informed about the voluntary nature of participation and their right to withdraw from the study at any time without any impact on their treatment. All procedures were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Additional information Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Supplementary Information Rights and permissions Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. About this article Cite this article Senu, N.A., Armaghan, M., Zendehtalab, H. et al. Effect of a family-centered empowerment model-based educational intervention on quality of life in women with endometriosis: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Women's Health (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04782-8 Received: Accepted: Published: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04782-8