Monitoring Menopause

Women’s bodies change during menopause. Menstruation becomes irregular and eventually stops, and women may experience symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweating, a dry(er) vagina, insomnia, or heart palpations. Self-tracking technologies such as apps or wearables are specifically geared towards monitoring and managing these changes. For example, there are specifically tailored menopause apps (e.g., Menopro; Hot Flash Sister), apps for tracking sexual functionality (e.g., SAA app; Vaginal Dryness), sleep apps (e.g., Sleep cycle), Fitbits, and digital heartrate meters. The main objective of the project is to provide insight into women’s usage of self-tracking technologies in menopause, and the ways in which these women-users’ menopausal experiences are affected and shaped by these technologies.