Report of a workshop: patient and professional perspectives of chronic pelvic pain

The workshop aim was to facilitate discussion between people who experience chronic pelvic pain (via the International Pelvic Pain Partnership) and health professionals and researchers that specialize in chronic pelvic pain. Participants heard about Patient Reported Outcome Measures and Core Outcome Measures for clinical trials in chronic (pelvic) pain. Participants explored outcomes for chronic pelvic pain in day to day treatments, self management, and research. Smaller facilitated discussion groups shared views and experiences of specific outcomes then prioritized these. A whole group sharing session highlighted the differences and similarities across the small groups. There were some issues that generated robust debate, e.g. how we name and label outcomes, and the challenges of measuring outcomes. We concluded with a presentation and discussion about classification of chronic pelvic pain and the importance of involving people affected by chronic pelvic pain in these debates.