Prevalence and impact of period and pelvic pain in Australian adolescents: the PPEP talk schools program

Background: In 2018 the Australian Government launched the world's first National Action Plan for Endometriosis (NAPE). Of its three priorities ‘Priority 1’ was ‘Education and Awareness’. In response, the Pelvic Pain Foundation of Australia was funded to deliver their Periods, Pain and Endometriosis Program (PPEP) Talk to a proportion of Australian schools. Since then, PPEP Talk has been delivered to over 110,000 students. Aims: This retrospective cross-sectional study investigated students assigned female at birth (AFAB) and the prevalence and impact of period and pelvic pain, interaction with health care services and knowledge of endometriosis. Materials and Methods: Multiple choice, pre and post PPEP Talk, paper survey responses between July 2022 and June 2023 were collected from 13,078 students AFAB. Results: 52.6% of students reported regular severe period pain. 22.9% of students reported regularly missing school or work with their period. 21.5% of students had presented to a health professional for pain, and 5.7% had presented to an Emergency Department. 5.2% of students reported pelvic pain for more than 10 days per month. The prevalence and impact of period and pelvic pain varied across demographic variables. The proportion of students who knew what endometriosis was rose from 47.8% to 95.5% after the program. Conclusions: The NAPE's objective to enhance education and awareness of endometriosis and period/pelvic pain was met. 100% of schools who received PPEP Talk want it to return. Wide discrepancies in the prevalence of pain within different demographics were identified, providing previously unknown data to improve and direct services.