REAL-WORLD EVIDENCE ON AWARENESS, ADOPTION, AND PERCEIVED UTILITY OF PERIOD TRACKING APPLICATIONS FOR MENSTRUAL HEALTH AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Author(s)
Adarsh V. Kanekar, PharmD1, SHRADDHA D. PANSARE, PharmD1, Harshada S. Kale, PharmD1, Hani S. Gupta, PharmD1, Anjana Barola, PhD1, Hemant Deshpande, MBBS, MD2;
1Dr. D. Y. Patil Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Pimpri, Pune, India, 2Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Pune, India
1Dr. D. Y. Patil Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Pimpri, Pune, India, 2Dr. D.Y. Patil Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Pune, India
OBJECTIVES: Mobile health apps in the digital era generate useful real-world data that can support self-care and facilitate physician-led care. Women can monitor their cycles, symptoms, mood swings, stress, and lifestyle factors with Period Tracking Applications (PTAs). This study assessed awareness, adoption, barriers, and perceived utility of PTAs among female university students.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adult female students across various disciplines at DPU Unitech Society, Pune, India through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were applied.
RESULTS: A total of 473 students participated in the study, with a mean age of 20.7 ± 1.7 years. Overall awareness of PTAs was 67%. Awareness varied across academic courses: Moderate awareness was reported among non-health disciplines, MBA students reported 67.7% (21/31), BCA 66.7% (46/69), BSc 66.3% (53/80), Engineering 54.7% (58/106). Higher awareness was observed among pharmacy-related courses, particularly Pharm D 79.6% (43/54), B Pharmacy 75.4% (52/69), D Pharmacy 73.2% (30/41), and M Pharmacy 63.6% (14/22). Despite widespread awareness, adoption remained modest (34.7%). Non-use was primarily due to lack of awareness (33%), privacy concerns (20.4%), and perceived lack of utility (16.8%). Encouragingly, 71.2% of non-users expressed interest in learning more. Among users, 73.8% reported identifying menstrual irregularities, and 57.3% believed PTAs could aid in PCOS detection. Privacy was rated “very important” by 51.2%, with only 43% willing to share data with healthcare providers. The need for improved symptom tracking, more robust privacy controls, user-friendly design, and instructional content was highlighted by the students.
CONCLUSIONS: PTAs demonstrate strong potential as adjunct tools for monitoring menstrual health and detecting irregularities suggestive of PCOS among university students. PTAs can encourage timely medical evaluation and reduce underdiagnosis. To maximize adoption and impact, targeted efforts are needed to raise awareness in technical and non-health courses, with educational campaigns, improved app design, stronger privacy protections, and integration with healthcare support systems.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adult female students across various disciplines at DPU Unitech Society, Pune, India through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were applied.
RESULTS: A total of 473 students participated in the study, with a mean age of 20.7 ± 1.7 years. Overall awareness of PTAs was 67%. Awareness varied across academic courses: Moderate awareness was reported among non-health disciplines, MBA students reported 67.7% (21/31), BCA 66.7% (46/69), BSc 66.3% (53/80), Engineering 54.7% (58/106). Higher awareness was observed among pharmacy-related courses, particularly Pharm D 79.6% (43/54), B Pharmacy 75.4% (52/69), D Pharmacy 73.2% (30/41), and M Pharmacy 63.6% (14/22). Despite widespread awareness, adoption remained modest (34.7%). Non-use was primarily due to lack of awareness (33%), privacy concerns (20.4%), and perceived lack of utility (16.8%). Encouragingly, 71.2% of non-users expressed interest in learning more. Among users, 73.8% reported identifying menstrual irregularities, and 57.3% believed PTAs could aid in PCOS detection. Privacy was rated “very important” by 51.2%, with only 43% willing to share data with healthcare providers. The need for improved symptom tracking, more robust privacy controls, user-friendly design, and instructional content was highlighted by the students.
CONCLUSIONS: PTAs demonstrate strong potential as adjunct tools for monitoring menstrual health and detecting irregularities suggestive of PCOS among university students. PTAs can encourage timely medical evaluation and reduce underdiagnosis. To maximize adoption and impact, targeted efforts are needed to raise awareness in technical and non-health courses, with educational campaigns, improved app design, stronger privacy protections, and integration with healthcare support systems.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-05, ISPOR 2026, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue S6
Code
MT35
Topic
Medical Technologies
Topic Subcategory
Digital Health
Disease
No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas, SDC: Reproductive & Sexual Health