endometriosis Archives

Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels.

21 November 2022

Palau Robert, passeig de Gràcia, 107, 08008 Barcelona, Spain

On 21st November 2022, the General Directorate for Economic Promotion, Competition and Regulation (GDEPCR) of the Regional Catalan Government (Generalitat de Catalunya), Science for Change and the research group OpenSystems of the University of Barcelona will host their final regional event to showcase the outcomes of the Catalonia regional cluster of the TRANSFORM project. This will be an opportunity to raise awareness of the transformative potential of citizen science, to share successful examples of how this methodology has improved public policy, and to present in more depth the two pilots implemented during the project: the first to increase the selective collection of municipal waste and the second to improve endometriosis care, diagnosis and support services.

Do you want to know more? Do not hesitate to register.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The TRANSFORM Catalan Cluster aims to help governments and agents involved in the Catalan R&I ecosystem incorporate citizen science methodologies in their strategies, policies and projects. For this purpose, two main activities have been developed: the creation of a Catalan Think Tank and the implementation of pilot projects in citizen science:

Waste pilot: In Mollet del Vallès, quadruple helix stakeholders – private sectors, academia, citizens and public administrations have been working together to improve the selective waste collection system, collecting preferences and opinions from citizens through an interactive waste game.
Health pilot: With the Gynecology Area of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS) health professionals and patients with endometriosis have carried out participatory research to delve into their personal experiences with the disease, identify needs, assess services and resources for the diagnosis, care and support for patients with endometriosis and engage in the co-creation process of recommendation for better health care services and policy.

Moreover, the Catalan Think Tank brought together 55 representatives of the quadruple helix of the Catalan R&I ecosystem (regional and local public administration, universities, research centres and companies). Together these organisations learn, reflect and propose how citizen science can be a good tool to improve public policies and tackle the current social and environmental challenges.

The Catalan cluster is working towards incorporating citizen science as a means of integrating RRI into Catalonia’s RIS3CAT 2021-2027, its instruments and the actors of the Catalan R&I ecosystem.

The RIS3CAT 2030, makes an appeal for comparative agendas and transformative and responsible research and innovation as the main motors for orienting Catalonia towards a greener, digital, resilient and fairer socio-economic model.

Learn more about the Catalonia cluster here.

Endometriosis affects 10% of girls, women (and sex-gender diversities) of reproductive age worldwide. Its diagnosis takes between 8 and 10 years from the onset of symptoms, a time during which these people suffer serious physical, psychological, social and professional consequences.

Participatory research on endometriosis has resulted in the co-creation of 6 general and 28 specific recommendations, written in the first person by patients, with the aim of informing public health policies and contributing to improving the clinical approach and care services to patients.

Through citizen science, Science for Change has led this pilot project in collaboration with the Gynecology Area of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS), the Economic Strategy Area of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the OpenSystems research group of the University of Barcelona.

“Endometriosis in the first person: participatory research on experiences and recommendations of women with endometriosis for the improvement of health services“ is an innovative pilot that applies citizen science in women’s health within the framework of the European Project H2020 TRANSFORM. This pilot has involved women with endometriosis to deepen their experiences of the disease and their experiences regarding health services.

In the research, 20 women diagnosed with endometriosis participated as co-investigators, having an active role in the data collection phases, in the formulation of recommendations and in the dissemination of the results.

Marta Fonseca has been suffering of endometriosis for 18 years. She has undergone four surgeries and has participated in the pilot.

“The fact of being in this group does not cure, but it helps a lot to share this experience and contribute to these recommendations. Yes, it is a complex disease, but if there are so many women who suffer from it, more attention must be paid to the various areas that endometriosis involves. Endometriosis exists and we must have better ways to deal with it with more informed professionals and resources dedicated to research.”

With the results of the research, a policy brief has been written for policymakers and health personnel, presenting the recommendations co-created by women for the improvement of health services. The policy brief was presented on the 19^th October at an event at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau that was attended by the women participating in the research and Gynecology professionals from the Hospital.

“The pilot and the policy brief aim to give voice and raise awareness about how endometriosis is experienced and its effects on people’s global health, as well as present recommendations to improve diagnostic and health care services.”

Diana Reinoso, Project Manager at Science for Change

The six general recommendations contained in the policy brief are:

Increase awareness of endometriosis at the healthcare level
Develop strategies for an early diagnosis of endometriosis
Improve the process of conveying information to patients to increase self-awareness and contribute to shared decision-making
Define and implement a comprehensive endometriosis management model
Improve care for people with endometriosis in healthcare services
Develop more personalised and patient-informed treatment models

The ultimate goal of the policy brief is to influence public health policies at regional and local level, and specifically, to influence the Endometriosis Care Model of Catalonia, in addition to the new model of innovative approach to the disease in the Hospital of Santa Creu i Sant Pau.

Dr. Ramon Rovira, surgical coordinator of the Gynecology and Obstetrics Service of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau – IIB Sant Pau, in Barcelona, comments that “with the TRANSFORM project we have really put the patient at the center. It has been an opportunity, as a professional, to know first-hand what patients need and a possibility of radical improvement to face changes in the therapeutic approach to this pathology at all levels”. In addition, he adds that the results of this initiative are “a clear example for new projects in different areas of health that allow a paradigmatic change in what patient care entails, in general. Knowing what the patient needs is one of the obligations of the medical care of the future”.

According to Nora Salas Seoane, Head of the Health Area of Science for Change, this pilot project is a clear example of how we can use citizen science, participatory strategies and co-creation in health to incorporate the patient’s experience and transform together with them certain health practices and their healthcare services.

“We are helping to understand women’s health from their perspective and their feelings, taking into account gender barriers in health. This pilot demonstrates that the patient experience is key and necessary to improve care services and influence the planning of health policies.”

Nora Salas Seoane, Head of the Health Area of Science for Change

Photo: XPatient Barcelona Congress.

28 – 29 September 2022

Online

The seventh edition of the “XPatient Barcelona” congress took place on September 28-29 and the TRANSFORM project was one of the protagonists of the congress. The pilot project “Endometriosis in first person: participatory research on experiences and assessments of women with endometriosis for the improvement of health services” was selected as one of the five most outstanding and complete experiences presented at the congress.

TRANSFORM at the XPatient Barcelona

The TRANSFORM project (funded under H2020) brings together three European regions (Lombardy, Brussels-Capital and Catalonia) to experiment with different innovative participatory methodologies to make the regional research and development and innovation policies more accountable. In Catalonia, a citizen science pilot on endometriosis has been carried out with the aim of involving people suffering from endometriosis to better understand their experiences at a biopsychosocial level as well as with health services. The patients then co-create recommendations for the improvement of health services and influence health policies.

“Endometriosis in the first person: participatory research on experiences and assessments of women with endometriosis for the improvement of health services” pilot aims to improve diagnostic care services and health care for endometriosis. The pilot is developed in collaboration with the Hospital de Sant Pau and the Agency for Health Quality and Evaluation of Catalonia (AQuAS), as well as with the Economic Promotion area of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the OpenSystems research group, the latter two, partners of the TRANSFORM Catalan Cluster, led by Science for Change.

Within this pilot, a group of women, who actively participated as co-investigators, was created to delve into the experiences of endometriosis. During the participatory sessions, they identified needs, made an assessment of the services and resources for diagnosis, care and support for people suffering from endometriosis and drafted recommendations for their improvement.

On Thursday, September 29, Nora Salas Seoane, Head of the Health Area of Science for Change., presented the work carried out within the framework of the TRANSFORM project on “Participatory and co-creation methodologies, involving first-person experiences to improve care services and inform public policies: the case of endometriosis as an underdiagnosed disorder that affects women’s health“ during the session “Experiences and debate: the response in times of crisis“, moderated by Patricia Ripoll, patient, health communicator and patient experience expert. Representatives from the Bellvitge University Hospital, the Terrassa Health Consortium, the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute, the Guttman Institute and Athenea solutions also participated in this session.

About the “XPatient Barcelona Congress”

The XPatient Barcelona Congress is an appointment with the main actors of the health ecosystem to share innovation, technology and evidence in improving the Patient Experience, of the caregivers / or people in charge and of the professionals in this field. It is an opportunity to discuss and advance, together with all the agents involved, a common and better-informed vision of improving our health systems and the benefits for patients. The engine of this change must be the detection of unmet needs and the proposal of care packages to respond to these needs, depending on local availability.

More information about the congress and registration here.

Older Posts

TRANSFORM CATALONIA REGIONAL CLUSTER IS HOSTING ITS FINAL REGIONAL EVENT ON 21 NOVEMBER 2022

A participatory research on endometriosis results in six recommendations to inform public policies in Catalonia

Endometriosis in First Person: the pilot of the European project TRANSFORM recognised as one of the five best projects of the XPatient Barcelona Congress