“together we share support, united we manifest strength”
~Sherrie palm
APOPS FOUNDER SHERRIE PALM
Contact Sherrie Palm via email @ info.apops@gmail.com
Sherrie Palm is leading the global charge to destigmatize vaginal health and increase awareness of pelvic organ prolapse.
Whether written or articulated word, advocate or activist engagement, Sherrie Palm mobilizes patient, healthcare, academic, research, industry, and policy sectors, providing a conduit to engender vaginal and intimate health evolution.
Sher is the Founder/CEO of Association for Pelvic Organ Prolapse Support (APOPS), a pelvic organ prolapse (POP) patient advocate and key opinion leader, a vaginal and intimate health activist, author of award winning book Pelvic Organ Prolapse: The Silent Epidemic, and an international speaker regarding pelvic organ prolapse quality of life impact and women’s health empowerment.
Her journey began in December 2007 post diagnosis of pelvic organ prolapse. Upon returning home and researching POP, she discovered how common the condition is, that it had been medically documented for nearly 4,000 years, and that stigma continued to shroud the condition in silence. In an effort to increase awareness of pelvic organ prolapse, Sher wrote the first edition of Pelvic Organ Prolapse: The Silent Epidemic, published April 2009. Information on the 3rd edition is available here.
While marketing the first edition, Sher felt the most effective way to guide and support women with POP was to found a nonprofit, and in 2010, APOPS became a federally designated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. With grassroots energy, APOPS has bridged women, physicians, academics, researchers, industry, and policy makers within 183 countries, toward global expansion of awareness and the evolution of pelvic organ prolapse directives.
In November 2023, Sher released her fourth book on prolapse, The Biggest Secret in Women’s Health: Stigma, Indifference, Outrage, and Optimism.
Contact Sherrie Palm regarding presenting at your event via APOPS landline at 262-706-3177 or via email @ info.apops@gmail.com.
AWARENESS
The most significant step women can take to improve quality of life with pelvic organ prolapse is educate themselves about POP, including the signs, symptoms, causes, and treatment options. The Biggest Secret in Women’s Health assists patient POP navigation, clarifies reality vs misconceptions, and provides a tool for diagnostic practitioners to share with their patients to bridge the gap. Understanding the condition empowers women to find answers, enabling them to move forward with their lives. APOPS provides additional support tools via multiple social media platforms.
It is imperative specialists recognize and acknowledge the physical, emotional, social, sexual, fitness, and employment quality of life impact of POP, and advance best practice to address patient concerns safely and effectively. Toward this end, in 2019 Palm contributed a chapter to the Springer medical volume The Innovation and Evolution of Medical Devices: Vaginal Mesh Kits, Edited by Abbas S. Shobeiri, M.D. Palm’s contribution is chapter 6 Medical Device Innovation and Errors: The Patient Perspective. This chapter explores health care tunnel vision, navigation of mesh complications, the POP workforce, regulatory evolution, technology, patient safety, and next steps. Additional information on this medical tome is available here. Palm also provided insights for the medical volume Insights Into Incontinence and the Pelvic Floor, contributing chapter 12 Screening for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome in the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Patient. This chapter explores the shortfall in screening for EDS in the POP patient, clarifying potential treatment shortfall and resulting complication concerns.
SCREENING
While subspecialists are well versed in pelvic organ prolapse, there currently exists a shortfall in POP curriculum in all fields that provide basic pelvic examinations. Despite childbirth and menopause being the leading causes of POP, and multiple lifestyle, behavioral, and comorbid conditions compounding risk, there currently is no standardized POP screening protocol practiced during routine pelvic exams. POP misconceptions are abundant. To advance POP understanding, patient voice must be enabled and magnified to clarify the true quality of life impact.
PRACTICE
The evolution of surgical and non-surgical POP treatments will continue to expand as efforts are made to de-stigmatize vaginal health. It is imperative clinician curriculum and industry evolve to meet women’s vaginal and intimate wellness needs.
POLICY
Policy is cornerstone of the evolution of POP awareness, screening, and best practice. Representing the needs of women at legislative priority meetings is a pivotal aspect of generating much needed evolution in all aspects of pelvic organ prolapse diagnostics and treatment. Sherrie Palm sat on the former FDA Medical Device Epidemiology Network (MDEpiNET), a coalition of government, healthcare, industry, and nonprofit sectors, advancing efforts to address deficits in women’s pelvic healthcare.