Current Studies

The BC Centre for Vulvar Health is active in several research studies. If interested in more information please contact us at BCCVH@vch.ca

‍Improving access to care for individuals with vulvodynia by supporting family physicians: Development of an online primary care toolkit.
‍Vulvodynia, a distressing vulvar pain condition, is frequently unrecognized and undertreated. The overarching goal of our project is to improve access to care for individuals with vulvodynia by supporting primary care physicians. A recent needs assessment, including a survey and focus group of province-wide community health care providers, identified a number of barriers to care including: 1) awareness and education, 2) accessible patient resources, 3) clear and concise treatment guidelines and 4) pathway to access vulvodynia – aware specialists. In partnership with community health care providers (physicians, physiotherapists and psychologists) and patient partners we will develop an accessible online toolkit to guide diagnosis and management.
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‍VIVID Study

‍Vaginismus (fear of painful vaginal penetration) is common and affected individuals experience difficulties with vaginal intercourse and gynaecological exams, as well as diminished sexual desire, sexual dissatisfaction, and poor sexual self-efficacy. Unfortunately, available psychological treatments are not very effective. However, exposure therapy (insertion of vaginal dilators in the presence of a clinician), is highly effective, but unavailable in Canada. To fill this gap, we are exploring the potential of virtual reality exposure for the treatment of Vaginismus. Click on link for more information. https://brottolab.med.ubc.ca/studies/vivid/


‍Development of a Core Outcome Set for Vulvar Intra-epithelial Neoplasia; a Delphi Study with Engagement of Both Health Care Professionals and Patients.

‍The objective of this study are to systematically evaluate the literature regarding treatment outcomes for vulvar intra-epithelial neoplasia. Specifically to develop, disseminate and implement a (1) multidimensional patient data set (demographic, clinical, biological characteristics) and, (2) a VIN core outcome set (COS).

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‍Delivering personalized care to women with vulvodynia: The integration of an electronic patient assessment questionnaire into the clinical setting.

‍The purposes of this research study are 1) to create a patient registry for women with chronic vulvar pain; 2) to evaluate the clinical utility of a newly validated tool, the Vulvar Pain Assessment Questionnaire (VPAQ). The data registry for the BC Centre for Vulvar Health is being created to collect clinical and questionnaire data from patients referred to the BC Centre for Vulvar Health on an ongoing basis. This will allow the Centre to follow women’s treatment progress and help to determine whether and how patients improve after being seen at the clinic.

EVOLVE Study
‍Lichen sclerosus is a relatively common skin disorder that causes white patches of skin to develop. It can occur anywhere on the body, but often involves the skin surrounding the genitalia and anus. The purpose of this research study is to assess patient outcomes from watching pre-recorded educational videos prior to their initial appointment with the gynecologist.

Collaborators

UBC Sexual Health Research Lab

‍UBC Sexual Health Research focuses on clinical and behavioural research in women’s sexual health, including sexual difficulties, discrepancies, and distress. Our research aims to develop and test psychological interventions for the management of genital pain and low sexual desire causing significant personal distress.We also examine different aspects of sexual orientation, including asexuality. Dr. Lori Brotto and colleagues have published landmark studies differentiating asexuality from sexual dysfunction. This and our current line of research are aimed at exploring the neural and biological correlates of asexuality as a unique sexual orientation.

Sexuality is an integral aspect of well-being and strongly influences relationship happiness. However, too often individual, relational, environmental, political, cultural, and medical factors get in the way of healthy sexuality. Our driving goal is to identify and mitigate these forces so as to cultivate each woman’s own human sexual potential.https://brottolab.med.ubc.ca/

‍SWell Lab

‍The Sexuality and Well-being lab (SWell Lab) is a research laboratory in the Psychology Department at the University of British Columbia. We are a group of psychological scientists who conduct multi-method research to identify risk and protective factors contributing to individuals’ and couples’ sexual health and well-being.https://swelllab.psych.ubc.ca/

‍Dr. Sarah B Munro

‍Dr. Munro’s program of research focuses on investigating the factors that influence implementation of evidence-based innovations in women’s health care. She leads integrated knowledge translation studies on implementation of shared decision-making tools for use in the childbearing year and best practices in family planning. Dr. Munro also develops and tests tools that support effective patient-oriented knowledge translation, including decision aids and short documentaries.https://obgyn.ubc.ca/person/sarah-munro

‍Queen’s SexLab

‍SexLab is devoted to sexual health research, with the goal of contributing scientific knowledge to further our understanding of sexual health. We are an inclusive, collaborative, and sex positive group with a keen interest in clinical practice and knowledge translation.We work with patient partners and gender/sex minority consultants to ensure relevance of our research questions and inclusiveness of language used in our studies.Lab members also represent a variety of minority and underrepresented identities and statuses, and we contribute to each research study. Representation is essential since the majority of psychological research is dominated by sexual and gender/sex (and other) majorities.
https://www.sexlab.ca/