Women’s experience of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) diagnosis: update on actual practices and women’s follow-up (EMPOIHER Study)

In: Menopause · 2025 · vol. 33(1) , pp. 12–19 · doi:10.1097/gme.0000000000002623 · PMID:40891627 · W4413909934
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This study evaluated 101 women's satisfaction with their premature ovarian insufficiency diagnosis disclosure, finding general satisfaction but a need for better information and psychological support, with no link between disclosure satisfaction and treatment adherence.

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AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-11 · read from full text

The EMPOIHER study assessed women’s experiences of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) disclosure and examined whether satisfaction with how the diagnosis was communicated was associated with subsequent adherence to treatment planning and medical follow-up. In a cohort of 101 women with spontaneous POI attending two French university hospitals from 2017 to 2024, standardized interviews captured satisfaction (including communication clarity, emotional responsiveness, and opportunity for questions), follow-up, and menopause hormone therapy (MHT) use, with 64% reporting being globally satisfied. Although 70% sought additional information and only 19.8% reported being offered psychological support, satisfaction with disclosure was not associated with adherence to follow-up or MHT, and only 63.4% received MHT at inclusion; the paper does not clearly address how selection or reporting limitations may affect these findings. The paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Although premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) diagnosis can be devastating, few studies focused on women's experiences of the disclosure. The objective of EMPOIHER study was to evaluate women's satisfaction with POI disclosure and the association with subsequent adherence to the treatment plan and medical follow-up. METHODS: We studied a cohort of 101 women diagnosed with spontaneous POI who attended two French University Hospitals between 2017 and 2024. Standardized interviews collected gynaecologic history, experience of POI diagnosis, etiological and comorbidities assessment, POI follow-up and menopause hormone therapy (MHT) use. Women's satisfaction with POI disclosure was evaluated using a five-item scale assessing the health care provider's emotional responsiveness, clarity of communication, amount of information provided, opportunity for questions and relevance of discussed topics to the women's concerns. RESULTS: Sixty-four percent of participants declared they were globally satisfied or very satisfied with the way they were informed of their POI diagnosis. However, 70% sought more information using the internet or asked for the opinion of another practitioner. Surprisingly, psychological support was offered to only 19.8% of women. Solely 63.4% of participants benefited from MHT at inclusion. No association was found between women's satisfaction regarding POI disclosure and their adherence to follow-up and MHT. CONCLUSIONS: While participants expressed general satisfaction with the communication of their POI diagnosis, there is room for improvement in clinicians' communication skills regarding providing information and empathy. Furthermore, women should be offered psychological support following POI diagnosis. Our findings emphasise the need for guidelines concerning the POI disclosure process. In this study, no association was found between women's satisfaction with POI announcement and their adherence to MHT and gynecologic follow-up.
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Objective

Although premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) diagnosis can be devastating, few studies focused on women’s experiences of the disclosure. The objective of EMPOIHER study was to evaluate women’s satisfaction with POI disclosure and the association with subsequent adherence to the treatment plan and medical follow-up.

Methods

We studied a cohort of 101 women diagnosed with spontaneous POI who attended two French University Hospitals between 2017 and 2024. Standardized interviews collected gynaecologic history, experience of POI diagnosis, etiological and comorbidities assessment, POI follow-up and menopause hormone therapy (MHT) use. Women’s satisfaction with POI disclosure was evaluated using a five-item scale assessing the health care provider’s emotional responsiveness, clarity of communication, amount of information provided, opportunity for questions and relevance of discussed topics to the women’s concerns.

Results

Sixty-four percent of participants declared they were globally satisfied or very satisfied with the way they were informed of their POI diagnosis. However, 70% sought more information using the internet or asked for the opinion of another practitioner. Surprisingly, psychological support was offered to only 19.8% of women. Solely 63.4% of participants benefited from MHT at inclusion. No association was found between women’s satisfaction regarding POI disclosure and their adherence to follow-up and MHT.

Conclusions

While participants expressed general satisfaction with the communication of their POI diagnosis, there is room for improvement in clinicians’ communication skills regarding providing information and empathy. Furthermore, women should be offered psychological support following POI diagnosis. Our findings emphasise the need for guidelines concerning the POI disclosure process. In this study, no association was found between women’s satisfaction with POI announcement and their adherence to MHT and gynecologic follow-up.

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