{"paper_id":"eaf31b41-cda5-47d4-8715-0a8bd9d114cd","body_text":"Abstract\nThe objective of this study was to evaluate the utility and impact of the Painful Periods Screening Tool (PPST) to improve healthcare delivery for people with symptoms of pelvic pain. The design of this study was a survey study. After IRB approval, patients aged 18–55 years with self-reported pelvic, abdominal, or lower back pain before, during, or after menstrual periods were invited to participate in the study from September 2020 to June 2021. Participants filled out the PPST questionnaire on the day of their Johns Hopkins clinic visit and the follow-up questionnaire 1–14 days after the clinic visit. Demographics and duration of pain were assessed, and participants who completed the PPST questionnaire were sent a follow-up questionnaire to assess utility and impact of PPST. Of the 1352 patients who met study eligibility, 1000 participants responded to both questionnaires. Most subjects (82.9%; 95% CI: 80.4–85.2%) reported having severe pelvic/abdominal or lower back pain during menses. Nine hundred fifteen participants (91.5%; 95% CI: 89.6–93.2%) reported that if given regularly, the PPST would help women discuss their pain symptoms with their healthcare provider. Six hundred seventy-eight participants (67.8%; 95% CI: 64.8–70.7%) reported that the PPST helped them initiate a conversation about their symptoms. Seven hundred seven participants (70.7%; 95% CI: 67.8–73.5%) were more comfortable discussing symptoms of pelvic pain with their provider after filling out the PPST. These findings support the utility of PPST as an endometriosis screening tool and suggest that this tool facilitated communication between patients and providers about pain symptoms.\nSimilar content being viewed by others\nData Availability\nAll data collected as part of the study has been presented in the manuscript.\nReferences\nGiudice LC, Kao LC. Endometriosis. 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Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2017;296(2):153–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-017-4406-9.\nAttestation Statements\n• Data regarding any of the subjects in the study has not been previously published unless specified.\n• Data will be made available to the editors of the journal for review or query upon request.\nFunding\nThe study was funded by AbbVie.\nAuthor information\nAuthors and Affiliations\nContributions\nBS, YX, AS, CT, and JS developed the study protocol and conducted the study. BS, YX, JB, AS MV, CT, and JS compiled the manuscript and edited it.\nCorresponding author\nEthics declarations\nConflict of Interest\nYanqing Xu and Ahmed M Soliman are AbbVie employees and hold AbbVie stock or stock options and patents. Dr. Segars has served as consultant or had research funding from Bayer, AbbVie, Myovant, Organon, Allergan, or Obseva. Other authors have no relevant disclosures.\nCapsule\nThe use of a screening questionnaire, the PPST, has clinical utility and facilitated communication between patients and providers about pain symptoms.\nAdditional information\nPublisher's Note\nSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.\nSupplementary Information\nBelow is the link to the electronic supplementary material.\nRights and permissions\nSpringer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.\nAbout this article\nCite this article\nSingh, B., Berry, J., Volovsky, M. et al. The Utility and Impact of the Painful Periods Screening Tool (PPST) to Improve Healthcare Delivery for People with Symptoms of Pelvic Pain. Reprod. Sci. 30, 1676–1683 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-022-01119-2\nReceived:\nAccepted:\nPublished:\nVersion of record:\nIssue date:\nDOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-022-01119-2","source_license":"public-domain-us","license_restricted":false}