Many of our patients that have pelvic pain already have a diagnosis of endometriosis, while others are concerned they might have it and want to track their symptoms. Enter Phendo. Phendo is an app to “track, manage, and understand endometriosis,” and is part of Citizen Endo, a research project to better understand endometriosis through the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Columbia University. Participants agree to participate in Phendo is an observational research study to establish a catalog of the signs and symptoms of endometriosis as experienced by people with endometriosis and “the opportunities to reflect upon your collected data may help you in managing your disease.” Kudos to Mollie McKillop, MPH, MA. and Noémie Elhadad, PhD who are behind the project!
We think this is a great research project and encourage patients to consider participating! The data submitted is already being used in one collaborative project, the Research Out-Smarts Endometriosis (ROSE) study.
Who’s Eligible to use the app and participate?
Individuals eligible to participate in the study include:
- Adolescents (those 13 and above) and adults (those 18 and above) who have reached the onset of menarche, that is, who have had at least one menstrual period.
- Adolescents and adults who have experienced symptoms of endometriosis in the past 3 months.
- Adolescents and adults who have reached menarche but have not experienced symptoms in the last 3 months are eligible to participate as controls.
Those under the age of 18 will need parental permission to participate, and parents or guardians will be asked to co-sign consent.