ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

  • Meetings
    • ACR Convergence 2024
    • ACR Convergence 2023
    • 2023 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • ACR Convergence 2022
    • ACR Convergence 2021
    • ACR Convergence 2020
    • 2020 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting
    • 2018-2009 Meetings
    • Download Abstracts
  • Keyword Index
  • Advanced Search
  • Your Favorites
    • Favorites
    • Login
    • View and print all favorites
    • Clear all your favorites
  • ACR Meetings

Abstract Number: 0452

Reproductive Health Needs of Women with Rheumatic Disease: An EMR-Based Online Survey Study

Krista Topalsky1, Lindsay Frumker2, Muhammad Shamim3, Omer Pamuk4, Jacqueline Colucci5 and Marina Magrey6, 1University Hospitals/ Case Western Reserve University, Shaker Heights, OH, 2University hospitals Cleveland medical center, Highland Heights, OH, 3University Hospitals/ Case Western Reserve University, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, 4University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center/ Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 5University Hospitals, Cleveland, OH, 6Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine/University Hospitals, Richfield, OH

Meeting: ACR Convergence 2024

Keywords: autoimmune diseases, education, patient, Surveys, Women's health

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
Session Information

Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024

Title: Reproductive Issues in Rheumatic Disorders Poster

Session Type: Poster Session A

Session Time: 10:30AM-12:30PM

Background/Purpose: Reproductive-aged women are disproportionately affected by rheumatologic disorders, making family planning issues like contraception, pre-conception counseling, fertility, pregnancy complications, and postpartum care critical components of disease management.

Guidelines now offer a framework for Rheumatologists to navigate the challenges in treating female patients of reproductive age. However, barriers to initiating conversations about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) remain. Patients may feel uncomfortable initiating these conversations or are unaware of the potential risks they face, which restricts their ability to have an informed dialogue with providers.

Our study aims to understand how patients perceive the impact of their rheumatic disease and treatment on their SRH and to find areas for providers to improve communication and patient education and promote reproductive wellness.

Methods: In this survey study, we identified female subjects aged 18-45 years with autoimmune rheumatic diseases seen in the Rheumatology Department of our institution using Slicer Dicer, a data exploration tool in the EPIC EMR that allows for customized searches on large patient populations. We developed a questionnaire to prompt and facilitate reproductive health conversations (Table 2), which included 17 yes/no questions about patient comfort with SRH discussions, their conditions’ impact on family planning, pregnancy, and breastfeeding, and preferences for receiving related information. Patients responded through REDCap, a secure web application for building and managing online surveys and databases. We then performed a descriptive analysis to evaluate responses, calculating percentages and the mean and standard deviation for age. The study received IRB approval at our institution.

Results: 137 eligible patients received an online questionnaire. Table 1 summarizes general patient demographics. 59 of the 137 patients (43%) responded. Table 2 shows the responses. Almost 2/3 (64%) of respondents stated that their rheumatic disease affected their plans to have children. 73% of patients indicated they did not know whether their conditions could affect pregnancy, and more than half were uncertain about the effect of rheumatic disease on breastfeeding (56%). Regarding treatments, 54% of patients were unaware of the effect of their medications on pregnancy, and 53% were uncertain of medication effects on breastfeeding. Interestingly, more patients preferred to receive online resources for information about their diseases and RH (68%) than directly from their physicians (36%) or printed materials (47%).

Conclusion: Our survey indicates that a significant proportion of respondents are impacted by rheumatic disease in their family planning and pregnancy decisions. Results also reveal gaps in reproductive health knowledge among our female patients and underscore the need for improved communication with healthcare providers. The preference for online resources indicates a shift towards digital information dissemination, suggesting the potential for online educational materials to increase patient engagement and help tailor management.

Supporting image 1

Table 1. Patient Demographics

Supporting image 2

Table 2. Questionnaire and Patient Responses


Disclosures: K. Topalsky: None; L. Frumker: None; M. Shamim: None; O. Pamuk: None; J. Colucci: None; M. Magrey: AbbVie, 2, 5, BMS, 2, 5, Eli Lilly, 2, Novartis, 2, Pfizer, 2, UCB Pharma, 2, 5.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Topalsky K, Frumker L, Shamim M, Pamuk O, Colucci J, Magrey M. Reproductive Health Needs of Women with Rheumatic Disease: An EMR-Based Online Survey Study [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2024; 76 (suppl 9). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/reproductive-health-needs-of-women-with-rheumatic-disease-an-emr-based-online-survey-study/. Accessed .
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

« Back to ACR Convergence 2024

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/reproductive-health-needs-of-women-with-rheumatic-disease-an-emr-based-online-survey-study/

Advanced Search

Your Favorites

You can save and print a list of your favorite abstracts during your browser session by clicking the “Favorite” button at the bottom of any abstract. View your favorites »

All abstracts accepted to ACR Convergence are under media embargo once the ACR has notified presenters of their abstract’s acceptance. They may be presented at other meetings or published as manuscripts after this time but should not be discussed in non-scholarly venues or outlets. The following embargo policies are strictly enforced by the ACR.

Accepted abstracts are made available to the public online in advance of the meeting and are published in a special online supplement of our scientific journal, Arthritis & Rheumatology. Information contained in those abstracts may not be released until the abstracts appear online. In an exception to the media embargo, academic institutions, private organizations, and companies with products whose value may be influenced by information contained in an abstract may issue a press release to coincide with the availability of an ACR abstract on the ACR website. However, the ACR continues to require that information that goes beyond that contained in the abstract (e.g., discussion of the abstract done as part of editorial news coverage) is under media embargo until 10:00 AM ET on November 14, 2024. Journalists with access to embargoed information cannot release articles or editorial news coverage before this time. Editorial news coverage is considered original articles/videos developed by employed journalists to report facts, commentary, and subject matter expert quotes in a narrative form using a variety of sources (e.g., research, announcements, press releases, events, etc.).

Violation of this policy may result in the abstract being withdrawn from the meeting and other measures deemed appropriate. Authors are responsible for notifying colleagues, institutions, communications firms, and all other stakeholders related to the development or promotion of the abstract about this policy. If you have questions about the ACR abstract embargo policy, please contact ACR abstracts staff at [email protected].

Wiley

  • Online Journal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Permissions Policies
  • Cookie Preferences

© Copyright 2025 American College of Rheumatology