“The apps are most accurate if your cycles are really really regular, but the people who most need an app are the people whose cycles aren’t regular.”Īpps rarely allow women to customize results or how they are presented, the researchers found. “In some cases, you don’t have a way to go in and say I missed my period because of x reason or because I was in the hospital - both ordinary and exceptional circumstances can screw up the algorithms because they’re not really robust,” said co-author and independent researcher Nikki Lee. ![]() Many apps don’t allow users to correct them when the predictions are wrong or to input data or explanations about why a particularly stressful month or change in birth control might have thrown off their cycles. Women found the modeling assumptions used in some period tracking apps weren’t accurate or flexible enough to consistently predict their menstrual cycles, particularly when their periods weren’t regular. Some apps were more successful than others in allowing users to customize their experience based on their menstrual tracking goals. While some apps were much more successful in meeting users’ needs, the researchers found, none were perfect. The UW study focused on nine different period tracking apps currently available on the Android Market and Apple App Store, and on what characteristics users liked or disliked, rather than general opinions of the apps themselves. A lack of attention to such an essential component of women’s health surfaced publicly in 2014 when Apple rolled out its HealthKit without any way to track menstrual cycles. The study is among the first to investigate how women track their periods - which is surprising, the researchers said, given that it’s one of the first questions doctors ask women. “People felt they were better than tracking their periods on paper, but still weren’t great in a lot of basic ways.” ![]() Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. ![]() “People didn’t feel like the apps were very good at supporting their particular needs or preferences,” said lead author Daniel Epstein, a doctoral student at the UW’s Paul G. One of women’s biggest complaints about period tracking apps was the use of pink, flowery iconography in lieu of more discrete and functional designs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |