A national campaign to fight endometriosis – Access to rights, health, professional equality and culture of equality – Women’s rights and equality between women and men – State actions

Behind the signature “ Talk more about it to better detect it », the campaign aims to raise awareness of endometriosis which today affects between 1.5 million and 2.5 million menstruating people in France, or approximately 1 in 10 women.

Despite increased awareness, endometriosis remains little known

Endometriosis is a disease chronic inflammatory disease that affects women of childbearing age. It is notably one of the main causes of infertility In France. This disease is characterized by the development, outside the uterus, of tissue similar to the internal uterine mucosa, sometimes colonizing other organs (for example the ovaries, bladder, vagina or rectum) or even ligaments or nerves. The symptoms of endometriosis are numerous and vary from one person to another, which makes its diagnosis complex, especially since there is no correlation between the extent of the lesions and the severity of the symptoms. . The main symptoms are: severe pain during periods, deep pain during sexual intercourse, urinary problems and pain with defecation, infertility, and sometimes even pelvic pain.

The diagnosis time for endometriosis is 7 years on average due to the low specificity of symptoms, the taboo around periods and the trivialization of pain. This delay in diagnosis is notably the cause of a silent progression of the disease.

Raise awareness among the general public and mobilize health professionals

In order to allow earlier diagnosis of the disease, the media campaign will target the general public on the one hand, by referring to the site Santé.fr which has a lot of information (symptoms, diagnosis and examination, treatments, how to live with the disease, patients’ rights). On the other hand, the campaign will also be aimed at health professionals in order to encourage them to become informed and trained in this pathology, as well as to join the regional networks dedicated to endometriosis to which people should be referred. in the event of possible suspicion of endometriosis for diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

The ministry launched a digital display campaign in everyday life and in healthcare settings (parapharmacies and drugstores, shopping centers, local shops, etc.), in order to reach the entire population, targeted digital actions and a media partnership. The campaign will also reach healthcare professionals in the press and digitally and will be accompanied by a relations presse and a communication on the social networks.

The mobilization of associative partners as part of the development of this campaign, namely the EndoFrance, ENDOmind and Info-endometriose associations, enabled the ministry to rely on quality expertise to best reach the entire population. .