AUSTIN, Texas (September 23, 2025) — SubjectWell, the patient experience platform driving predictable clinical trial recruitment and patient retention, announced the publication of a peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) underscoring the company’s commitment to advancing the science of clinical trial recruitment and improving patient access, this time in women’s health, focusing on menstrual pain and dysmenorrhea.
“Millions of women live with significant menstrual pain but remain unseen by the healthcare system,” said Fred Martin, CEO of SubjectWell. “This work shows that digital, patient-first outreach can meet people where they are, listen at scale, and invite them into research, ultimately expanding equity and accelerating evidence generation in women’s health.”
The real-world evidence study, conducted via targeted Google and Facebook outreach across Germany, Austria, and Poland, examines diagnosis patterns, pain burden, and clinical-trial readiness among women experiencing menstrual cramps. Findings indicate a large diagnostic gap for dysmenorrhea despite substantial pain levels and show that direct-to-patient (DTP) communication can engage broad, diverse populations who are often missed in traditional medical settings.
Key findings include:
Significant diagnostic gap despite high pain
Among respondents reporting symptoms consistent with dysmenorrhea, only 4.6% reported receiving a diagnosis even though 88.5% of affected women in Germany and Austria reported pain ≥6/10, with even higher pain levels observed in Poland.
Digital outreach accurately finds the right patients
Targeted online campaigns demonstrated high specificity, with 94.6% of surveyed respondents meeting symptom criteria for dysmenorrhea, supporting DTP strategies as efficient tools for surfacing under-recognized patients.
Why diagnoses are missed
Approximately 90.3% of women had not sought medical advice, were unsure of their diagnosis, or said their symptoms weren’t recognized as pathological. Among those diagnosed, nearly half with dysmenorrhea-like symptoms were labeled PMS only, highlighting potential under-recognition of dysmenorrhea.
PMS recognition is comparatively higher
Of diagnosed cases, 77.3% reported a PMS diagnosis, and 8.6% of women with PMS symptoms reported being diagnosed, nearly double the dysmenorrhea diagnosis rate in the same population.
The findings reinforce SubjectWell’s evidence-driven approach to patient-centric recruitment. By quantifying reach and diagnostic gaps, the study suggests DTP strategies can broaden clinical-trial awareness among women who are undiagnosed or not currently seeking care, while providing researchers with a more inclusive view of real-world symptom burden.
“We set out to understand how direct-to-patient communication could improve access for those experiencing menstrual pain,” said Matthias Roos, Director of Scientific Affairs at SubjectWell. “The data clearly show digital strategies can connect with the right patients quickly and respectfully, laying the groundwork for more inclusive women’s health research.”
This project was funded by and conducted in collaboration with Bionorica SE in the context of assessing clinical trial patient recruitment strategies and is acknowledged as such in the publication.
The full article is available here: https://www.jmir.org/2025/1/e68148
For more information on SubjectWell’s patient recruitment solutions, visit www.subjectwell.com.
About SubjectWell
As the premier Patient Experience Platform, SubjectWell drives predictable trial enrollment and improves retention by enhancing the patient journey from protocol design through study completion. Powered by technology, global reach, full-service creative, and a suite of services to reduce site burden—SubjectWell drives intelligence and efficiency for sponsors, CROs, sites, and site networks. From protocol development through recruitment, enrollment, retention, and post-trial real-world evidence studies, SubjectWell supports the entire clinical lifecycle. To learn more, visit www.subjectwell.com.
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