Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: Experiences and Learnings From Patient Survey

BACKGROUND: Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) affects 1 in 4 women. It is often debilitating for those experiencing it, resulting in negative impacts on quality of life. Prompted by a national call for better insights into the management of HMB, the authors sought to collect patient feedback regarding access to HMB treatment alongside satisfaction with care, including treatment side effects, decision regret and the alignment of patient and clinician treatment goals. AIMS: This study aimed to gather patient feedback on the management of HMB treatment access, satisfaction, side effects, decision regret and alignment of patient and clinician treatment goals. METHODS: A retrospective recall survey was distributed to eligible participants at a single referral centre in regional Victoria, Australia. The survey was sent out to 1241 women who received treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) between 01/01/2018 and 01/05/2023. RESULTS: There were 150 respondents to the survey, with 84% reporting a wait time of less than 2 months to see a clinician. Satisfaction with symptom control was reported by 96.9% of hysterectomy patients, while 9.3% reported intolerable side effects and 7.7% expressed regret. Symptom control was less effective for oral hormones (39.5%), non-oral hormones (62.5%) and Mirena (48.4%), which also had higher rates of intolerable side effects (47.2%, 62.5% and 42%) and regret (18%, 41.7% and 27.4%). CONCLUSION: The study underscores the need for personalised patient care in managing HMB, emphasising the importance of educating patients about treatment outcomes to support informed decision-making.