System thinking in
Menstruation awareness and hygiene in period tracking application - Flo

Analysis of Desk Study

On Current Period Tracking Applications

Focus on Fertility: Traditional menstrual trackers often focus solely on fertility, which can reinforce the idea that the primary purpose of menstruation is reproduction. This can contribute to negative attitudes towards menstruation and limit women's understanding of their own menstrual health.
Lack of Personalization: Many menstrual trackers use a one-size-fits-all approach that does not take into account individual differences in menstrual patterns and symptoms. This can lead to inaccurate predictions and recommendations, which can be frustrating and counterproductive for users.
Emphasis on Cycle Regularity: Traditional menstrual trackers often place a strong emphasis on cycle regularity, which can make women feel abnormal or flawed if their cycles do not fit within a certain range. This can also lead to anxiety and stress around menstruation.
Limited focus on menstrual health: Many menstrual trackers focus only on tracking the timing and duration of periods, without providing information or support for managing menstrual symptoms or promoting menstrual health. This can limit women's ability to understand and manage their menstrual health effectively.
Lack of privacy: Many traditional menstrual trackers require users to input personal information and data, which can raise privacy concerns for some women. This can discourage women from using the trackers or sharing their data with healthcare professionals.
Stigmatization of menstruation: Traditional menstrual trackers may reinforce negative cultural attitudes towards menstruation, such as the idea that menstruation is dirty or shameful. This can contribute to feelings of shame or embarrassment around menstruation and limit women's willingness to discuss or seek support for menstrual health concerns.
Lack of integration with healthcare: Many traditional menstrual trackers do not integrate with healthcare systems or provide opportunities for users to connect with healthcare professionals. This can limit women's access to medical support or guidance for menstrual health concerns.
Lack of attention to social context: Menstruation is a social and cultural phenomenon, and traditional menstrual trackers often do not take into account the social context in which menstruation occurs. For example, menstrual stigma and shame can impact women's experiences of menstruation, and traditional menstrual trackers may not address these issues.

Survey Analysis

Sampling Technique : Purposive Snowball Sampling.

We rolled out a survey to the targeted audience and therefore sampled 40 such participants.

From the survey we then chose the willing 10 interview participants.

Most of the responses from the age group 18-24 and 90% were Student

50% of the survey respondent uses the period tracking application

Most Used Period Tracking Application was Flo & My Calendar

We got responses from Bangalore, Delhi and Udaipur.

Interview Analysis

How Do They Got To Know About : Mostly friends, some by themselves.
How they track period: 6/9 Participant who uses period tracking application uses Flo
How long They Been Using : Average 2 years, Maximum 6 years, Minimum 7 months
Reasons For Installing : Periods irregular, wanted to track, to be sure and prepared beforehand, 2 participants in the interview have PCOS, Only one has PCOS tips and tricks app other uses the tracking apps for research only.

Other things on the app: Mood tracking, symptoms entry during periods, suggestion by the app for lifestyle changes, (2 participants in certain way also use the app as contraception as they track their fertile window), one participant actively inputs their mood, whereas other take active suggestion on yoga, both find the suggestions helpful. One participant feels a lot features can also be overwhelming.

Prediction accuracy: People using or those who have used the app felt the predictions are accurate with 2 days of variation. One participant took these prediction as educational knowledge as through the app they got to know that periods can fluctuate and are not fixed. Certain participant felt that if they focus on their eating habits their cycles don’t fluctuate much.

Discussion with friends: Participants are pretty normal with having conversations around periods with friends. Some of the participants have conversations of their mood when they are pmsing also on their periods participants convey how feel like cramps or mood swings to their friends.

Discussion with Family: Participants who don't use period tracking apps told their mothers kept track of their cycle. Participants who had PCOS told that because of their ailment the conversations around the topic is normalised as they parents had to timely check up with the participant ultimately then with the doctor. Some of the participants didn’t have a direct conversation with the male counterparts of the family but they conveyed that they were aware the participant were going through and tried to help them as much as possible during periods. All the participants were most comfortable discussing the topic with their mothers as some told that they were the first ones to know and educate them around the topic.

Data Sharing with Friends and Family: Only a few participants discussed the apps data with either friends or family. Participant with PCOS shared the data with their mum as they also had to consult the doctor the dates they input for the cycle. One participant shared the apps data with her friends as they all were using different apps and they wanted to compare which app was most accurate.

Taboos: One participant told their are still taboos in the family as the older generation were still uncomfortable asking for pads from the son. 2 participants told that when anyone around them is menstruating they still used code words around the topic like “that time of the month”, “birthdays”.

Privacy Concerns: Participants who casually used the app didn’t have any privacy concern with the application. 2 participants were vary about data breaching of flow app so they switch to other counterpart such as PCOS tips app and apple health. One participant had logged in on the app from a dummy name and email id for security purposes. One participant told that they are concerned about their data but they are not aware in what sense the app might use the data against them so they were 50-50 on the privacy.

Mapping Interview & Survey Data with

Desk Study and applying system thinking approach

Wickedness In Period Tracking Application

Complexity: Menstrual cycles are complex, and there is a great deal of individual variability in cycle length, hormonal patterns, and symptoms. Designing an application that accurately predicts cycles for a diverse range of users requires accounting for this complexity and variability.

Diversity: Menstruation is experienced differently across cultures, age groups, and gender identities. Designing an application that is inclusive and sensitive to these differences requires understanding and accounting for this diversity.

Bias: Period tracking applications may perpetuate biases or inaccuracies in their predictions if they are not designed to account for individual variability and user preferences. For example, an application that assumes a 28-day cycle may not accurately predict ovulation for users with longer or shorter cycles.

Harm: Period tracking applications can potentially cause harm if they make inaccurate predictions or recommendations. For example, an application that in accurately predicts ovulation may lead to unintended pregnancy or missed opportunities for conception.

Stakeholders: There are multiple stakeholders involved in designing and implementing a period tracking application, including developers, healthcare professionals, users, and policymakers. Each stakeholder may have different values, interests, and priorities, which can make it difficult to find a solution that meets everyone's needs.

System Approach In Period Tracking Applications

Emergence: A period-tracking application might exhibit emergent behaviour, such as the ability to predict ovulation or menstrual cycles based on user data.

Feedback loops: The data collected by a period tracking application can be used to inform future predictions and recommendations for the user, creating a feedback loop. However, this feedback loop can also perpetuate biases or inaccuracies in the data if the application is not designed to account for individual variability in menstrual cycles.

Interconnectedness: A period-tracking application is interconnected with the broader healthcare system and social norms around menstruation. This can influence how the application is designed and how users interact with it.

Hierarchy: A period tracking application may be designed with a hierarchical structure, with developers or healthcare professionals at the top of the hierarchy and users at the bottom. This can influence how decisions are made about the design and implementation of the application.

Nonlinear dynamics: The behaviour of a period tracking application may exhibit nonlinear dynamics, meaning that small changes or errors can have unpredictable effects on the accuracy of its predictions or recommendations.

Resilience: A period tracking application's resilience may be influenced by external factors such as changes in user behaviour or preferences, as well as changes in social norms or healthcare policies around menstruation.

Holistic Approach in designing period tracking applications

Menstrual cycle tracking: The application should allow users to track their menstrual cycle by recording their period start and end dates, along with any associated symptoms or changes in mood.

Health and wellness tracking: The application should also allow users to track other health and wellness factors, such as sleep patterns, exercise habits, nutrition, and stress levels. This can help users identify patterns and triggers that may affect their menstrual cycle.

Personalization: The application should be customizable to meet the individual needs and preferences of each user. For example, users should be able to select the type of birth control they use, if any, and adjust their cycle length or symptoms as needed.

Educational resources: The application should provide educational resources on menstrual health and wellness, including information on menstrual products, common period-related health issues, and self-care practices.

Community support: The application should include features that allow users to connect with other users, such as forums or support groups, to share experiences and provide emotional support.

Proposed Changes In Current System - Flo

Community support: The application should include features that allow users to connect with other users, such as forums or support groups, to share experiences and provide emotional support.