Educational Preferences in PCOS/PMOS: A Multicentre, Multilanguage Exploration of Socioeconomic and Linguistic Determinants
Meri Davitadze, Maitreyi Redkar, Foteini Chatzimichail, Irmak Güneşli, Amanda Ling Jie Yee, Anagh Josh Banerjee, Seren Aksun, Sophia Sood, Olga Papanikolaou, Işın Yeşim Yeşilkaya, Aspasia Manta, Fahrettin Kelestimur, Erkut Attar, Dimitrios G Goulis, Bulent Yildiz, Eleni Armeni, Punith KempegowdaAbstract
Purpose
To evaluate educational preferences in PCOS/PMOS and the influence of socioeconomic status, language, and culture.
Methods
This multicentre mixed-methods study was conducted across five centres through convenience sampling.
Women aged ≥18 years with PCOS/PMOS consented to a survey. Participants were provided with multilingual videos, English-language leaflets, and a mobile application, followed by semi-structured interviews in their native languages. To ensure robust multivariable analysis while achieving within-site thematic saturation and cross-site comparability, we targeted 100 quantitative and 25 qualitative participants per site. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, multinomial logistic regression, and thematic coding.
Results
Among 524 women with PCOS/PMOS (median age 27 years, IQR 23–31) across India (40.1%), Greece (20.4%), Turkey (20.4%), and the UK (19.1%), videos were the most preferred medium (58.4%), followed by leaflets (20.8%) and mobile applications (13.4%). Preferences differed significantly by language (p < 0.001) and income (p = 0.002). Compared to English-speakers, Hindi- (OR = 6.20, 95%CI = 1.31–29.2) and Marathi-speakers (OR = 27.2, 95%CI = 2.96–250) were more favoured videos over leaflets, while Turkish-speakers least preferred mobile applications (OR = 0.29, 95% CI 0.09–0.88). Women with lower income and education were more likely to favour native-language videos. Among 125 interviewees, 56.1% deemed videos the most useful due to clarity, though they requested more cultural diversity. Leaflets were viewed as credible but dense; mobile applications were perceived as impersonal.
Conclusions
Video-based, particularly native-language education is the preferred medium for women with PCOS/PMOS. Language is the strongest predictor of preference. Culturally tailored multimedia resources may improve understanding, engagement, and equity in PCOS/PMOS care.