Hey Siri, track my period symptoms in Flo!

: differences in women’s perception of sexual and reproductive health advice provided by menstrual cycle tracking apps and doctors

Abstract

Over the course of the last decade, several topics have gained emerging interest – digital healthcare, discrimination and female-health related topics. As academic research inherently provides more knowledge on well-funded and well-researched topics such as diabetes, emerging topics such as endometriosis do not receive the same attention of scientific research yet. On the other side, business investments have increased in the area of sexual and reproductive health, yet they focus to a majority on infertility which only impacts 15% of all couples. While 25% of women encounter menstrual irregularities which is a under-researched topic. Combined with a gender biased healthcare system where powerless groups fear bias and stigma during the patient-physician interaction, there seems to be potential for innovation. Increasingly more private companies start exploring the market potential of physical, hybrid and digital products targeting the problems women face with menstrual irregularities. Based on data collection, digital products such as menstrual tracking apps can provide personalized insights and treatment suggestions without having to consult a healthcare provider. This study aims to investigate the trust, intention to treatment adherence and psychological safety to share information with either the menstrual tracking app or doctors. Participants found themselves in one of the 4 experimental designed, manipulating the advice setting (app/doctor) and making previous (good/bad) experience more salient. Managers and healthcare providers are tasked to find solutions to bridge the gap between digital solutions and healthcare institutions.

Date of Award	4 Jul 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Sofia Jacinto (Supervisor)