Supporting patients & care teams in navigating PCOS with patient-centered, compassionate care & resources.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder that affects approximately 1 in 10 people of childbearing age, yet up to 75% of people with PCOS are undiagnosed. The “Partnering to Navigate PCOS” team is working to support patients and care teams to better diagnose, manage, and support people living with PCOS. Our team has co-developed tools to understand and manage PCOS.
We aim to help patients and providers streamline diagnoses and care for PCOS. We teamed up with young adults to co-develop PCOS informational tools and patient support guides. We partnered with health systems to streamline diagnosis and support providers in caring for their patients.
For Healthcare Teams
Through a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Narges Farahi and partners at UNC and Piedmont Health Services are designing and testing a new way to provide care to people with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).
“Partnering to Navigate PCOS” is a multidisciplinary team striving to co-develop patient-centered educational tools for consumers and training support for their care teams.
About the Study: The Partnering to Navigate Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) study engages patient and clinical partners to develop a comprehensive, multidisciplinary PCOS management program in an FQHC setting in the South, where patients experience disparities in chronic condition detection, treatment and pregnancy outcomes.
Partnering PCOS Team: The leadership team includes principal investigator Narges Farahi, MD, MPH, from UNC Family Medicine, and an interdisciplinary group of co-investigators with expertise in implementation science, chronic conditions, reproductive health, family medicine, health equity, maternal and child health, and community engagement/community-based participatory research. This group includes Rachel Urrutia, MD, MSCR, of UNC Obstetrics and Gynecology; Jean Dostou, MD, of UNC School of Medicine; Wanda Nicholson, MD, MPH, MBA, of George Washington University; Sarah Verbiest, DrPH, MSW, MPH, clinical professor in the UNC School of Social Work and executive director of the Collaborative for Maternal and Infant Health in the UNC School of Medicine; and Erin McClain, MPH, MA, of the UNC Collaborative for Maternal and Infant Health. The Partnering to Navigate PCOS team includes a patient advisory board to guide patient and community elements of the work, as well as teams of clinic champions.
You can learn more about the work and team here.
Let’s normalize finding quality PCOS treatment, support, and management.
Wolf WM, Wattick RA, Kinkade ON, Olfert MD. Geographical Prevalence of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome as Determined by Region and Race/Ethnicity. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(11):2589. Published 2018 Nov 20. doi:10.3390/ijerph15112589.
Partnering to Navigate PCOS, 2024.