A Comprehensive Patient Based Outcome Measure for Heavy Menstral Bleeding

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Dr. Kristen Matteson is Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brown University/Women and Infants Hospital of Providence, Rhode Island. The candidate's long-term goal is to develop an independent career combining clinical research with clinical medicine. The candidate is interested in the evaluation and treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding, a prevalent problem that has many causes including structural abnormalities, systemic diseases (such as bleeding disorders), and ovulatory dysfunction. Heavy menstrual bleeding has a major effect on women's health and the quality of women's lives. "Patient experience" with this condition must be evaluated and a high quality patient-based outcome measure must be developed. The proposed career development plan incorporates a multi-disciplinary program designed to provide a closely mentored patient-oriented research experience in association with a structured didactic curriculum in survey methodology and complex data analyses. In collaboration with a 7 member advisory committee, the candidate will develop a valid and reliable patient-based outcome measure ("The Menstrual Bleeding Questionnaire") for heavy menstrual bleeding. The most advanced available technology will be explored and employed for the development of the electronic format of "The Menstrual Bleeding Questionnaire". The specific aims of this study are (1)To determine the content and characteristics that gynecologists would require of an instrument for evaluation of women with heavy menstrual bleeding; (2)To explore the physical, psychological, and social factors that affect the quality of life of women with heavy menstrual bleeding; (3)To develop a menstrual bleeding-specific questionnaire that assesses amount of bleeding and "condition"-specific quality of life; (4)To develop innovative electronic methods of collecting data on patient-based outcome measures for heavy menstrual bleeding. RELEVANCE TO PUBLIC HEALTH: Heavy menstrual bleeding is a common problem that has a major impact on quality of life and health care utilization and costs. The quality of both clinical research and clinical care is adversely affected by the lack of a standardized comprehensive patient base outcome measure for women reporting heavy menstrual bleeding. This career development and research plan aims to develop a high quality patient- based outcome measure for heavy menstrual bleeding that can be used in clinical care and future research.