Endometriosis and chronic pain

"This research aims to co-research alongside people with endometriosis into the digital management of chronic pain associated with endometriosis. "Endometriosis is one of the most common problems encountered in gynaecology" (Overton, Davis, McMillan, & Shaw, 2007). One in 10 people with uterus' have endometriosis, yet it typically takes 8 years on average to receive a diagnosis from the onset of symptoms. As stated in 'The Atlas of Endometriosis' (Overton, Davis, McMillan, & Shaw, 2007), major symptoms include dysmenorrhoea (painful periods), dyspareunia (painful intercourse) and pelvic pain. There can also be gastrointestinal (digestive system) and urinary (bladder) symptoms. Endometriosis can lead to decreased quality of life and an average annual cost per person of 9579 EUR (Simoens, Dunselman, & Dirksen et al., 2012). Despite its common prevalence and debilitating symptoms, endometriosis is a historically under-researched condition with little available in terms of treatment and symptom management. NICE guidelines for treating endometriosis are limited to pain medication, hormonal treatment and surgery, though none are curative (NICE, 2017).
The James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership for Endometriosis set one of the top 10 research priorities of endometriosis in the UK and Ireland, to be;
"What are the most effective non-surgical ways of managing endometriosis related pain and/or symptoms (medical/non-medical)?" (Horne, Saunders, Abokhrais, & Hogg, 2017)
This project will address this question as it pertains to digital interventions using a participatory research design (Wright, et al., 2013). Currently there exists little digital support specific to endometriosis, a study by Ball et al. (2020) showed co-design may improve engagement in individuals with chronic pelvic pain. The use of online support groups is growing around endometriosis along with menstrual cycle tracking. There is also a self-tracking tool 'Phendo' as a part of an observational...