Menstrual questionnaires for clinical and research use

Area of Science:

• Gynecology
• Clinical Research
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) significantly impacts women's quality of life.
• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly used to assess HMB's effects.
• Current HMB research faces challenges due to inconsistent outcome measurement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the value of PROMs in HMB care.
• To address the need for harmonized outcome measurement in HMB research.
• To emphasize the potential of standardized PROMs for improving patient-centered care and evidence generation.

Main Methods:

• Review of PROMs used in heavy menstrual bleeding studies, including semiquantitative charts, pictograms, and various questionnaires.
• Analysis of systematic reviews identifying inconsistencies in outcome measurement across HMB studies.
• Discussion of ongoing research initiatives and international collaborations focused on harmonizing outcome measures.

Main Results:

• PROMs are diverse, encompassing symptom assessment and quality of life impact.
• Inconsistent PROM use across studies hinders literature interpretability and consensus on treatment effectiveness.
• Harmonization efforts are underway through research initiatives and international collaborations.

Conclusions:

• Standardizing PROMs in HMB research and clinical practice is crucial.
• Harmonized outcome measurement can enhance patient-centered care for women with HMB.
• Improved evidence-based guidelines for HMB evaluation and treatment can result from PROM harmonization.