The ELEMI healthcare professional Study

Abstract Introduction Endometriosis impacts 1 in 10 women and can be a debilitating disease. Late diagnosis is a major challenge with Endometriosis, contributing further to the exacerbation of symptoms and suboptimal clinical management. Regardless of the commonality of the condition, public awareness and research around endometriosis is severely lacking. Methods To explore the knowledge base about Endometriosis we developed a digital cross-sectional study. We used the Qualtrics XM platform and developed a questionnaire. The primary objective of the study was to report the understanding of Endometriosis among healthcare professionals in a mental healthcare setting in the UK. Results We gathered the responses of 144 healthcare professionals, although only 68 participants responded to all questions. Approximately 96% of participants agreed that there is a need for a comprehensive clinical strategy where mental health care services could assist women very early in the pathway. Around 63.1% confirmed awareness of endometriosis although the χ 2 (p-value=0.158) test showed that the perceived clinical knowledge was not necessarily associated with their profession. Over 92% of participants confirmed that it would be useful to conduct mental health-based research among endometriosis patients. Discussion It is clear than patients with endometriosis would greatly benefit from a streamlined clinical pathway. It would also have financial benefits to the NHS, including less visits to A&E. The absence of comprehensive knowledge and understanding amongst healthcare professional on endometriosis leads to delayed diagnosis and treatment, exacerbating their psychological and physiological symptoms. Conclusions Our study shows the importance of funding mental health research to further add to the body of knowledge in order to develop evidence based clinical practices that are equally acceptable to women with endometriosis. This will have benefits for both the patients, healthcare professional, and also the NHS. It will enable for better treatment pathways and symptom management, aiding the development for improved healthcare policies.