Special Edition of Women’s Reproductive Health

Building bridges: understanding barriers in endometriosis and pelvic pain management.

Please consider a submission and share this with your networks.

Guest editors Mike Armour, Alex Hawkey, Amelia Mardon, Hannah Adler.

Endometriosis and pelvic pain remain challenging conditions, often characterized by delayed diagnoses, limited treatment options, and inadequate support systems at work, education, and at home. These challenges are exacerbated by the “invisible” nature of the illness, frequently leading to under-recognition, and misunderstanding in the clinical, public, and social domains.

Despite ongoing efforts and an increase in research funding in endometriosis over the past decade, significant barriers to accessing timely and effective medical care continue. These include a lack of awareness and understanding of chronic pelvic pain among healthcare providers and resistance to adopting new diagnostic and treatment methods by both patients and health professionals. Additionally, when those with endometriosis and pelvic pain do seek new and effective treatments and look for better support, they frequently face barriers to clinical trial participation, and concerns surrounding new treatments or diagnostic methods are rarely addressed in the clinical setting. More needs to be done to understand why these barriers exist, so that future initiatives can be designed to address these.

We invite researchers to contribute to a special issue focused on exploring and addressing the barriers to the treatment of endometriosis and pelvic pain. Submissions should highlight existing barriers, and provide specific commentary on how to reduce these barriers. This includes focusing on innovative approaches to improving diagnosis, treatment, and support for individuals with endometriosis and pelvic pain. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• The use of novel methods to uncover issues faced in clinical care or within the endometriosis community to increase uptake of new treatment and diagnostic options. This could include interdisciplinary studies which have a sociological, communicative, economic, political, or feminist lens.
• Strategies for enhancing implementation of new methods to support early diagnosis and increase awareness among healthcare professionals.
• Development and implementation of new diagnostic tools and treatment methods, or novel approaches to endometriosis and pelvic pain care.
• Barriers to clinical trial participation and strategies to overcome them in endometriosis and pelvic pain research.

This special issue aims to collect novel contributions on topics including endometriosis, chronic/persistent pelvic pain of various (or unknown) causes including adenomyosis and vulvodynia.

We encourage a broad range of submissions across a range of research, disciplines, and methodologies including, quantitative, systematic, and qualitative or  mixed-methods approaches. Article types include empirical academic studies, discussion and opinion pieces, case reports, and artistic contributions, such as reflective first person perspectives. In line with the journal’s focus, submissions that adopt a feminist and/or intersectional perspective are strongly encouraged.

If you are interested in submitting a proposal for a paper, please include the following details:

• Author’s names
• Institution
• Email for contact author
• Article type
• Title of your article
• Summary – a brief summary of no more than 300 words

Please submit your proposal to Guest Editor Mike Armour at m.armour@westernsydney.edu.au by 30 September 2024.

Manuscript submission April 2025.

https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issues/barriers-endometriosis-pelvic-pain-management/

Associate Editors

Alexandra J. Hawkey, Ph.D., Western Sydney University, Australia
Janette Perz, Ph.D., Western Sydney University, Australia

Consulting Editors

Jessica Barnack-Tavlaris, Ph.D., MPH, The College of New Jersey, USA

Deborah Bateson, MA, MSc, MBBS, University of Sydney, Australia

Chris Bobel, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Boston, USA

Angela Dawson, Ph.D., University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Paula Derry, Ph.D., Paula Derry Enterprises in Health Psychology, Baltimore, USA

Heather E. Dillaway, Ph.D., Wayne State University, USA

Lorah D. Dorn, Ph.D., CPNP, Pennsylvania State University, USA

Mindy J. Erchull, Ph.D., University of Mary Washington, USA

Breanne Fahs, Ph.D., Arizona State University, USA

Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D., Georgetown University, USA

Nikki Hayfield, Ph.D., University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

Ingrid Johnston, Ph.D., Lesley University, USA

Michelle Lafrance, Ph.D., St. Thomas University, Canada

David Linton, Ph.D, Marymount Manhattan College, USA

Marci Lobel, Ph.D., State University of New York – Stony Brook, USA

Catriona Macleod, Ph.D., Rhodes University, South Africa

Maria Luisa Marván, Ph.D., Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico

Danielle Mazza, MD, MBBS, Monash University, Australia

Ellen F. Olshansky, Ph.D., RN, University of Southern California, USA

Chloe Parton, Ph.D., University of Wellington, New Zealand

Michelle Peate, Ph.D., University of Melbourne, Australia

Jerilynn C. Prior, M.D., University of British Columbia, Canada

Nancy King Reame, MSN, Ph.D., FAAN, Columbia University, USA

Lisa R. Rubin, Ph.D., New School for Social Research, USA

Lynette Leidy Sievert, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts – Amherst, USA

Meredith Temple Smith, MPH, DHSc, University of Melbourne, Australia

Marni Sommer, DrPH, Columbia University, USA
Evelina Sterling, Ph.D. Kennesaw State University, USA

Margaret L. Stubbs, Ph.D., Chatham College, USA

Mandikidza Tembo, Ph.D., Biomedical Research and Training Institute, Zimbabwe

Inga Winkler, Ph.D., Columbia University, USA

Nancy Fugate Woods, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, University of Washington, USA