A Research Associate specialising in women’s health has helped shape new NHS draft guidance to improve how healthcare professionals diagnose and support people living with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Sharon Manship from the Centre for Health Services Studies (CHSS) helped shape the guidance after her own long wait for diagnosis and treatment inspired her research in this area.
PMOS is a lifelong condition which can cause irregular periods, higher testosterone levels and ovaries with many small follicles. Around 1 in 8 women live with PMOS, but many face long waits for diagnosis and inconsistent support.
Sharon joined the NICE guideline committee as a lay member. She drew on her lived experience and insights from people involved in her research to help ensure the guidance reflects what matters to those affected.
Sharon said: "As someone who has been living with PMOS for around 30 years, I am really pleased to see the new NICE guideline come to fruition.
"I first sought support in my early 20s having realised that my irregular and painful menstrual cycle and issues with my weight and mental health were not the norm. It was so disheartening to be told - until I was finally diagnosed in my mid-30s - that my symptoms were just part of being a woman."
Sharon had wanted to research women’s health for years, but others had discouraged her because of her personal experience. She added:
"When I expressed an interest in researching PMOS, a colleague suggested that I steer clear of something that had adversely impacted me since it could be too emotional and I may be too close to it. CHSS took a very different approach. When I started my role as a Research Associate, my line manager, Dr Sarah Hotham, actively encouraged me to explore what mattered to me."
CHSS is Kent’s largest research centre. Its researchers study health and social care services and work with local government and health services across Kent, Surrey and Sussex to strengthen research and respond to local priorities.
At CHSS, Sharon and fellow researcher Kate Day explored the diagnosis experiences and support needs of people living with PMOS in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Their report, funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey and Sussex (ARC KSS) Individual Development Future Leader Award, sets out recommendations for ongoing care.
They also lead the Inclusive Women’s Health Research Group at Kent. In 2025, Sharon launched the PMOS Research Network UK & Ireland to connect researchers and professionals across the country.
Reflecting on what she’s achieved, Sharon said:
"I am so grateful that I was encouraged to pursue my interests in PMOS research. Being able to focus on something that I am both personally and professionally passionate about has made me feel very motivated to continue and given me a great sense of achievement in being part of something that will help others like me in the future."
"As a lay member, I was able to contribute insights from both my own lived experience, and that of others I’ve engaged with through my research and professional networks.
"My hope is that with this new guideline, people with PMOS will be taken seriously, diagnosed earlier and provided with evidence-based support and care from healthcare professionals from the outset, rather than having to go through what I went through.
"I am positive that the whole community of individuals living with this all-encompassing and debilitating condition will similarly welcome this new guidance."
NICE expects to publish the final PMOS guideline in December 2026.
