Fertility and Sterility Publishes Joint Opinion Piece on Addressing the Endometriosis Gap
April 9, 2025
For immediate release
Endometriosis is a chronic disease that often causes pelvic pain and infertility and is challenging to diagnose. The paper examines disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis in Black patients, specifically.
"Every individual with endometriosis deserves to receive high quality, equitable care, regardless of race and ethnicity, yet existing research shows that Black women are less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis compared to White women and experience undue delays in diagnosis," said Gloria Richard-Davis, M.D., a co-author of the opinion piece and the Regional Dean of the More in Common Alliance, a partnership between the Morehouse School of Medicine and CommonSpirit Health. "Our hope is that this paper serves as a call to action for fellow OB/GYNs, scientists, and healthcare providers to take action on health equity and ultimately improve health outcomes for our patients with endometriosis."
Along with Dr. Richard-Davis, the paper is co-authored by Drs. Janelle Jackman, Jasmine Eliwa, Kim Thornton, Zaraq Khan, and Rebecca Flyckt.
The joint opinion piece offers recommended solutions regarding policymaking, additional research, and new medical industry standards and training. Examples include:
- Offering implicit bias training for students and physicians
- Recruiting a more diverse physician workforce
- Encouraging vigilant screening for endometriosis in Black patients and referring patients to specialists when appropriate
- Investigating the preoperative evaluation and planning patterns and experiences of Black endometriosis patients
- Reviewing gaps in how the healthcare system widens existing disparities in care
- Incentivizing greater payor and patient diversity among specialist surgeons
- Improving insurance reimbursement for specialist care to improve differences in referral patterns
- Empowering and collaborating with Black patients on health advocacy, including through patient support groups and inclusive workplace policies
Fertility and Sterility is a monthly publication of The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).
To learn more, read “Addressing the Endometriosis Gap and Promoting Equal Access to Care for Black Women with Endometriosis"
For almost a century, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has been the global leader in multidisciplinary reproductive medicine research, ethical practice, and education. ASRM impacts reproductive care and science worldwide by creating funding opportunities for advancing reproduction research and discovery, by providing evidence-based education and public health information, and by advocating for reproductive health care professionals and the patients they serve. With members in more than 100 countries, the Society is headquartered in Washington, DC, with additional operations in Birmingham, AL. www.asrm.org
For media inquiries regarding this press release contact:
Sean Tipton
ASRM Chief Advocacy and Policy Officer
E: stipton@asrm.org
Anna Hovey
Advocacy Engagement Specialist
E: ahovey@asrm.org
J. Benjamin Younger Office of Public Affairs
726 7th St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
Tel: (202) 863-2494
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