Objective Mood and physical symptoms related to the menstrual cycle affect women's productivity at work, often leading to absenteeism. However, employer-led initiatives to tackle these issues are lacking. Digital health interventions focused on women's health (such as the Flo app) could help fill this gap. Methods 1867 users of the Flo app participated in a survey exploring the impact of their menstrual cycle on their workplace productivity and the role of Flo in mitigating some of the identified issues. Results The majority reported a moderate to severe impact of their cycle on workplace productivity, with 45.2% reporting absenteeism (5.8 days on average in the previous 12 months). 48.4% reported not receiving any support from their manager and 94.6% said they were not provided with any specific benefit for issues related to their menstrual cycle, with 75.6% declaring wanting them. Users stated that the Flo app helped them with the management of menstrual cycle symptoms (68.7%), preparedness and bodily awareness (88.7%), openness with others (52.5%), and feeling supported (77.6%). Users who reported the most positive impact of the Flo app were 18–25% less likely to report an impact of their menstrual cycle on their productivity and 12–18% less likely to take days off work for issues related to their cycle. Conclusions Apps such as Flo could equip individuals with tools to better cope with issues related to their menstrual cycle and facilitate discussions around menstrual health in the workplace.
Introduction: Low health literacy among girls, women, and people who menstruate is associated with worse reproductive health outcomes. Mobile apps promise tools for improving women’s health literacy, however, there is little information about subscribers’ perceptions of app functionality and its impact on their knowledge and health. Objective: This study aimed to explore knowledge and health improvements related to menstrual cycle and pregnancy, as well as improvements in general health in Flo app users. We also investigated what components of the Flo app were associated with the above mentioned improvements, and evaluated whether those improvements differed based on education level, free or a premium subscription to the app, short or long term use of the app, and frequency of use. Methods: Flo subscribers who had been using the app for no less than 30 days completed an online survey. A total of 2214 of complete survey responses were collected. The survey included demographic questions, questions about motivations guiding usage of the Flo app, to what extent and what components of the app may have helped improve their knowledge and health (i.e., reproductive, sexual, physical, mental health, health behaviours, and communication with healthcare providers).Results: Most study participants reported menstrual cycle (89.0%) and pregnancy (84.6%) knowledge improvements from Flo app use. 62.3% of Flo users reported ‘period predictions’ and 72.2% reported ‘reading and/or watching articles and video sources in the app’ helped them feel the most informed about their cycle and pregnancy health. Higher educated, Flo Premium, frequent, and short term app users reported using the app mainly for getting pregnant and pregnancy tracking. Lower educated and long time users reported using the app to learn more about their body, sexual health, irregular cycles and related conditions, and to avoid pregnancy. Importantly, intended uses of the app for both lower and higher educated users matched areas in which they have gained knowledge and achieved their health goals upon the Flo app use. Flo Premium, frequent, and long term users were more likely to report improvements in knowledge and health in all areas they chose to use the app for and even beyond.Conclusion: There is a need to increase reproductive health literacy in the global female population. This study has shown that the use of the period tracking app, Flo, as self-reported by its users, improved their menstrual cycle and pregnancy knowledge and health. Additionally, more frequent, long-term, and Flo Premium users were more likely to report knowledge and health improvements across multiple health areas. Thus, the use of digital health apps, such as the Flo app, should be considered for integration into healthcare systems to increase women’s health literacy in the wider population.
Background Research shows that poor knowledge and awareness of menstrual and pregnancy health among women are associated with adverse reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes. Menstrual cycle– and pregnancy-tracking mobile apps are promising tools for improving women’s awareness of and attitudes toward their reproductive health; however, there is little information about subscribers’ perceptions of app functionality and its impact on their knowledge and health. Objective This study aimed to explore knowledge and health improvements related to menstrual cycle and pregnancy, as well as improvements in general health among Flo app users. We also investigated what components of the Flo app were associated with the abovementioned improvements and evaluated whether those improvements differed based on education level, country of residence (low- and middle-income vs high-income countries), free or premium subscription to the app, short- or long-term use of the app, and frequency of use. Methods Flo subscribers who had been using the app for no less than 30 days, completed a web-based survey. A total of 2212 complete survey responses were collected. The survey included demographic questions and questions about motivations guiding the use of the Flo app and which components of the app improved their knowledge and health, as well as to what extent. Results Most study participants reported improvements in menstrual cycle (1292/1452, 88.98%) and pregnancy (698/824, 84.7%) knowledge from Flo app use. Participants with higher levels of education and those from high-income countries reported using the app predominantly for getting pregnant (χ21=4.2, P=.04; χ21=52.3, P<.001, respectively) and pregnancy tracking (χ21=19.3, P<.001; χ21=20.9, P=.001, respectively). Participants with less education reported using the app to avoid pregnancy (χ21=4.2; P=.04) and to learn more about their body (χ21=10.8; P=.001) and sexual health (χ21=6.3; P=.01), while participants from low- and middle-income countries intended to mainly learn more about their sexual health (χ21=18.2; P<.001). Importantly, the intended use of the app across education levels and country income levels matched areas in which they had gained knowledge and achieved their health goals upon use of the Flo app. Period, fertile days, and ovulation predictions as well as symptom tracking were consistently the top 3 components in the app that helped users with their cycle knowledge and general health. Reading articles or watching videos helped with users' education regarding their pregnancy. Finally, the strongest improvements in knowledge and health were observed in premium, frequent, and long-term users. Conclusions This study suggests that menstrual health apps, such as Flo, could present revolutionary tools to promote consumer health education and empowerment on a global scale.
ObjectiveTo investigate symptomatology throughout the menstrual cycle, including the frequency of symptoms reported for each phase of the cycle and the relationship between symptoms and individual characteristics.MethodsThis study included self-reported cycle information and symptoms during ovulatory menstrual cycles in mobile application users. Symptom frequency was described overall, by phase, and by day. Relationships between symptoms and individual characteristics (age, body mass index) were tested with logistic regression.Results224,676 unique users and 498,126 unique cycles were included in the analysis. Somatic symptoms were most frequently reported, logged in 85.3% of cycles. Of total symptoms logged, somatic, gastrointestinal, and negative mood symptoms were most prevalent in the late luteal and bleeding days, while positive mood and discharge were most common in the fertile window. Symptom experience differed by age.ConclusionsMenstrual cycle-related symptoms are very common and vary throughout the cycle phases. While most women report negative symptoms including pain, bloating, and negative mood, women also report positive symptoms such as energetic and happy mood. Self-reported data from cycle tracking and health apps can improve our understanding of the prevalence and variability of menstrual-related symptoms.Funding SourceFlo Health UK LimitedPrecisMenstrual symptoms include both positive and negative physical and mood symptoms and differ by age.
Background Although a shared experience throughout the world, menstrual symptomatology is underreported and often misunderstood, by both individuals who menstruate and their providers. This study aimed to investigate symptomatology throughout the menstrual cycle, including the frequency of symptoms reported for each phase of the cycle and the relationship between symptoms. Methods This study included self-reported cycle information and symptoms during ovulatory menstrual cycles in mobile application users. Symptom frequency was described overall, by phase, and by day. Relationships between symptoms were examined through correlation coefficients and term frequency-inverse document frequency analysis. Results 437,577 unique users and 896,051 unique cycles were included in the analysis. Somatic symptoms were most frequently reported, logged in 88.3% of cycles. Of the total symptoms logged, somatic, gastrointestinal, and negative mood symptoms were most prevalent in the late luteal and bleeding days. In contrast, positive mood and discharge were most reported in the fertile window. Mood symptoms were highly correlated with each other (energetic mood and happy mood r = 0.62, anxious mood and obsessive thoughts r = 0.60). Fatigue was highly correlated with somatic and gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating (r = 0.62), headache (r = 0.60), backache (r = 0.58), and nausea (r = 0.55). Conclusions Menstrual cycle-related symptoms are very common and vary throughout the menstrual cycle. While negative symptoms, including pain, bloating, and negative mood, are most commonly reported, women also report positive symptoms, such as energetic and happy mood. Self-reported data from cycle tracking and health apps can improve our understanding of the prevalence and variability of menstrual-related symptoms. Trial Registration Not applicable.
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