Users' Perspectives on Multimodal Menstrual Tracking Using Consumer Health Devices

TL;DR

This study explores how users incorporate unconventional physiological signals from consumer health devices into menstrual tracking, revealing insights into their experiences, behaviors, and design needs over a three-month period.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into user experiences with multimodal menstrual tracking using wearable sensors and offers design recommendations for future tools.

Findings

Participants used both conventional and unconventional signals to understand menstrual health.

Unconventional signals influenced daily behaviors and expanded users' understanding of menstrual health.

The study offers practical design recommendations for multimodal menstrual health tracking devices.

Abstract

Previous menstrual health literature highlights a variety of signals not included in existing menstrual trackers because they are either difficult to gather or are not typically associated with menstrual health. Since it has become increasingly convenient to collect biomarkers through wearables and other consumer-grade devices, our work examines how people incorporate unconventional signals (e.g., blood glucose levels, heart rate) into their understanding of menstrual health. In this paper, we describe a three-month-long study on fifty participants' experiences as they tracked their health using physiological sensors and daily diaries. We analyzed their experiences with both conventional and unconventional menstrual health signals through surveys and interviews conducted throughout the study. We delve into the various aspects of menstrual health that participants sought to affirm using unconventional signals, explore how these signals influenced their daily behaviors, and examine how multimodal menstrual tracking expanded their scope of menstrual health. Finally, we provide design recommendations for future multimodal menstrual trackers.