Dr. Kristen A. Matteson, of Barrington, recently named director of the Division of Research for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, has been hailed for her leadership and vision in women’s health research.
Matteson was part of the team designing and leading the department’s Resident Research Curriculum, and Dr. Maureen G. Phipps, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital and Care New England, credits her with revitalizing the Women’s Health Fellows Workshop in Clinical Research Design.
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Providence Business News asked Matteson about the importance of research for hospitals, her study of treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding and the impact the condition has on the people affected by the condition.
PBN: How does research factor in to Women & Infants’ mission?
MATTESON: Research is an integral piece of any institution or department that strives to be a true leader in health, because advances in health care do not happen without sound, high-quality research.
Generating the body of scientific research and evidence our field will use to guide patient care is the critical piece of the puzzle that makes a department a leader in health care rather than a follower. Grant funding, program funding and innovative projects truly set the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women & Infants Hospital apart from other institutions.
The mission of the Division of Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is to improve women’s health through developing innovative research and interdisciplinary collaborations as well as providing research support for diverse women’s health investigators.
The Division of Research promotes and supports the research and scholarly activities of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Women & Infants Hospital community. Through its multidisciplinary team, the Division of Research provides expertise in epidemiology, statistics, database development, grant submissions, business management, public-health research coordination, and research support.
PBN: Dr. Phipps references your vision for enhancing the department’s research program, can you elaborate on that, please?
MATTESON: As director of the Division of Research, I will be working with research faculty and staff across the department to ensure that research resources meet the current and projected future needs of clinician researchers in the department, to develop plans and strategies to retain clinician-investigators on faculty, and to identify opportunities for collaboration within and across local institutions as a hub for women’s health research.
I plan to work to maintain our excellence and increase our external research funding as a department by leveraging what we already have to successfully compete for funding, supporting staff development and growth, supporting faculty development and advocating for resources to grow and diversify the departmental research portfolio. The goal is to increase departmental grant funding over the next five years, resulting in the Department of OB-GYN ranking among the top 10 Departments of OB-GYN nationally in terms of federal grant funding.
PBN: The release also notes you revitalized the Women’s Health Fellows Workshop in Clinical Research Design, can you provide some detail on how you did that?
MATTESON: One of the key missions of the Division of Research is to train future leaders in women’s health research and to ensure that trainees in residency and clinical fellowship receive excellent training in clinical research and evidence-based medicine.
Teaching trainees about research methods and developing good research questions has to be one of my favorite parts of my job! The Division of Research has coordinated the Women’s Health Fellows Workshop in Clinical Research Design every summer since it was developed in 2002 by Drs. Maureen Phipps and Jeffrey Peipert.
As director of this workshop from 2008 to 2015, I conducted annual assessments to ensure the content and material delivery was meeting the needs of the fellow participants. Although the workshop has received excellent reviews from the fellows who participated, it is important to re-evaluate and refresh on a regular basis to make sure the workshop is interesting and relevant. This workshop is currently co-directed by [Dr.] Cara Mathews and Valery Danilack, and they are doing an excellent job and I look forward to teaching in this workshop each year.
PBN: What are the medical and general concerns associated with heavy menstrual bleeding?
MATTESON: “Medical reasons” for concern about heavy menstrual bleeding are the risk that women may develop anemia and the fact that the bleeding may be a symptom of an underlying disease that needs treatment. Heavy menstrual bleeding can be caused by structural issues in the uterus (including fibroids and polyps), precancer changes in the lining of the uterus, medical problems such as thyroid problems or bleeding disorders, issues with ovulation, problems with clotting in the lining of the uterus, or various medications. Because there are so many causes, it is important for women who think their periods are too heavy to see a medical professional to discuss their symptoms and be evaluated.
Equally important to this risk of anemia and other medical conditions, though, is the fact that the lives of women are adversely affected by abnormalities in their menstrual period. Compared to their counterparts without heavy periods, women with heavy periods are less likely to rate their health as excellent or good and are more likely to miss work and time with family and friends.
PBN: Please tell us about the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development-funded clinical trial comparing two nonsurgical treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding. What are those methods? Can you also provide some context regarding how many women are affected by heavy menstrual bleeding?
MATTESON: In 2013, I received funding from the NICHD to conduct a randomized clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of the levonorgestrel intrauterine system, [or] the IUD, to combined oral contraceptives at improving quality of life in women who suffer from heavy periods. This is an important project because nearly one in 10 women suffers from heavy periods, and heavy periods can have a huge negative impact on women’s family life, social life and work life.
In the United States, combined oral contraceptives and the levonorgestrel intrauterine system are the two most commonly prescribed nonsurgical treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding. However, studies comparing these treatments are extremely limited.
We are wrapping up recruitment for our randomized clinical trial – and excited to find out the results. Determining the clinical [effectiveness] of the two most widely used treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding, the LNG-IUS [levonorgestrel intrauterine system] and COCs [combined oral contraceptives], will aid treatment decision-making for patients, providers and the health care system.
Optimizing and promoting the use of the most effective nonsurgical therapies for women with heavy menstrual bleeding will have a positive impact by decreasing the number of women dissatisfied with the results of nonsurgical management who subsequently choose more-expensive surgical interventions such as hysterectomy.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
