International use of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptom Score (POP-SS): results on an online survey

An online survey was used to evaluate the international use of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptom Score (POP-SS) tool. The survey was sent by e-mail
to 149 individuals who had previously requested the POP-SS, and 35% responded. Ninety per cent confirmed that they used the POP-SS, of which 93% were physiotherapists and 51% were located in the UK. The remainder were split between: Australia, Ireland and the USA; and the continents of Africa, Asia, and North and South America. Eighty-nine per cent of respondents used the POP-SS to monitor patients’ prolapse symptoms, 78% to share information with patients, 60% to share information with other clinicians and 40% to help make treatment decisions. Seventy-one per cent of the participants included the POP-SS in patient records, 44% in audit and evaluation processes, and 18% in local clinical guidelines for the management of prolapse. With respect to the benefits of using the POP-SS in routine clinical care, 73% of respondents reported that clinical practice had improved, while 42% stated that it had enhanced patient outcomes. Finally, 57% of the participants confirmed that they used the POP-SS in their research. These findings suggest that the POP-SS has global reach, and is commonly used in high-income countries to monitor patients’ prolapse symptoms and share information with patients. However, it is also reaching a number of lower-and middle-income countries as prolapse services begin to expand in these parts of the world. Increased use of this brief validated symptom score tool would be beneficial.