People who have endometriosis — a painful, chronic condition where uterine tissue grows outside the uterus — may have to wait more than a decade to get diagnosed, according to the World Health Organization.
Dejanae Parkman has endometriosis herself. Her app, Dotted, is designed to get people closer to diagnosis, faster. It's a period and symptom tracker, as well as a search tool to find medical specialists. She won the top honor at the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas' pitch competition, taking home $115,000 to boost her business.
NTX Now host Ron Corning talked to Parkman about the inspiration behind the app and her goals for closing health gaps driven by racial and gender disparities.
How Dotted was born from personal experience
For years, I struggled with my health. Even starting way back when in middle school, I would struggle to get through class. I'd struggle to through PE. I fainted in class at least three or four times. I just had no idea that all of that stemmed from reproductive health issues.
It wasn't until I actually passed out on Christmas Eve in 2021 and woke up in the emergency room that I was told that I had endometriosis, PCOS, and fibroids all in one visit. I remember thinking, not really more so about my own pain, but how did we miss this in me?
A little bit about me, if I sneeze the wrong way, I am at the doctor. So I wanted to find out not only why it took so long for me to get diagnosed, but I wanted figure out what the drivers were to that gap so that other women don't have to experience that.
What drives the diagnosis gap
The top three are a lack of education, a lack of medical access, and inaccurate symptom tracking.
From the start, we tell girls that their cycle is just something that they handle in private. As they grow into women, they start to question themselves, but going to the doctor is expensive, and so a lot of women will just go to their general practitioner.
By the time you get in front of an actual specialist, you're having to recall years' worth of pain, and doctors only know what we tell them. So, if your doctor isn't seeing a pattern of your pain, it's gonna take you longer to get diagnosed. I created Dotted to target all three of those drivers.
On the discomfort of addressing disparities
I think it's uncomfortable, and that's why people don't want to acknowledge it. Just like periods are uncomfortable to talk about, but when we speak on it, we're helping someone.
It's uncomfortable to say that as a Black woman, I'm susceptible to more conditions than other women, but it's important to acknowledge that, so that I can be treated for the best of my health.
Within the app, we want to ensure that there's education and there's resources out there, so that you're not only learning about your body, but you have access to the resources, and you also have access to doctors that will listen to you and that will treat you correctly to go through your health so that you can have a great pregnancy or post-pregnancy experience.
Ron Corning is a co-host of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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