Flo.
Flo, like other menstrual apps, facilitate observation and analysis of menstrual cycles and associated factors through the collection and interpretation of data entered by users. As a subgroup of health-related apps, menstrual apps form part of one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing developments in biomedicine and health care. Covid-19 has had an impact on the population’s health care. Due to the rapid initiation of vaccination programs around the world some concerns have been raised about the side effects associated with the vaccine.
The Challenge.
The purpose of the creation of a new post-covid-19 vaccine symptoms feature is to understand the menstrual experiences of people after they have been vaccinated for COVID-19. Benefits related to this research include being able to share people’s experiences and contribute to an often-overlooked area of health research.
Objectives.
To focus on people’s experiences with their periods or other menstrual issues and associated symptoms after receiving at least one dose of the vaccine for COVID-19
Determine the effects that are a common element of the vaccine response, and the bleeding patterns that can be an important way to understand how people’s immune systems are activated
Identify user’s preferences and needs when using different menstrual cycle app features and ways that can be improved
To focus on a specific and popular period tracker app to develop the research study requirements
To determine features integrations that can be accessed by users instantly
To collect bleeding pattern data from users
Requirements.
Role: UX/UI Designer
Tools: Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, Whimsical, Miro
Timeline: 2 weeks (November 2021)
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What are other companies doing about the current situation?
At the time of the research, none of the health apps analyzed implemented any features regarding the aftereffects of Covid-19 or vaccine side effects.
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Survey results
80% of participants have had the Covid-19 vaccine and 26.7% of them have experienced changes to their periods since. 60% of participants would be interested in joining a research study about the Covid-19 side effects and would be interested in receiving more information about the research results.
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Who are our target users?
People who menstruate and are concerned not only about their health but also about the current pandemic. They are experiencing side effects, but there are no specialists offering help or advice due to the unknown circumstances the world is going through.
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What journey would the user take to track their symptoms when using the app?
The user will have the option to access the Covid-19 vaccine side effects questionnaire and access to the report, community, notifications and calendar through the current app features.
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High Fidelity Prototype- First Draft
#1 - Covid-19 vaccine side effects questionnaire.
This questionnaire has been based on a public survey by the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University’s School of Medicine and Fairbanks School of Public Health partnered with REDCap and MSN News. The user will need to complete the questionnaire in order to be part of the research study.
#2 - Symptoms Chart & Stories.
Flo's homepage shows a calendar and a chart displaying key information about the user's menstrual cycle. It also shows the log in symptom options as well as providing access to stories tailored to the user's needs. The new features added are shown within the symptoms charts: Covid-19 vaccine record system, bleeding pattern and hygiene products options. This information will be essential to the study research, the user will need to record their symptoms each day of their cycle.
Next to the log in symptoms option, Flo displays stories based on the users needs and preferences. I've added a Covid-19 section where the user can find information related to the research study, news and updates about the Covid-19 vaccine side effects.
#3 - Daily Research Questions Alerts
In order to collect valid information, the user needs to log in their bleeding patterns and the type of hygiene products used daily. The user will be notified through pushed notifications and will have access to the questions on homepage.
#4 - Covid-19 Community & Chats
Flo app has a Secret Chats option where users can anonymously discuss a variety of topics and get support from millions of other Flo users worldwide. We've added a Covid-19 section so users can have direct access to news, research study updates and FAQ about the Covid-19. I've added the chat with an expert feature in the news section as well as in the expert section inside the article.
↓ The user will also have access to the chat through pop up windows in the FAQ section.
#5 - Covid-19 Research Study Reports
I've added a Covid-19 Vaccine Research option within the Graphs & Report section. The user will have access to a Comparison Report, where they can compare symptoms pre and post the Covid-19 vaccine. Through the Research Data option, users will be able to gain access to other organisations study reports working on the same matter.
Time to validate the designs.
What do our users think?
“Alerts are very useful, I would need reminders to keep logging my symptoms.“
👀 Priority revisions based on users feedback
#1 News Section
A new tab layout has been added to the secret chats section in order to keep consistency in the new features implementation. News, research study and FAQ sections have been reorganised to correspond with the original design.
#2 - Research Study Section
The user will have access to more information about the Covid-19 vaccine side effects through the Research Study option within the Covid-19 section.
#3 - FAQ Section
The user will be able to access the FAQ through the Covid-19 section inside the secret chats. The user will be prompted with a pop-up window so they can chat with an expert if needed.
View the prototype here
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Conclusion
What happens next?
In the future, the feature should be updated to include a research results option, a share option to connect with other schemes and to test the volunteers experience to determine possible improvements.
Thanks to the number of people who took part in the survey I could gather essential data about how they manage their health and their interest in taking part in a research study voluntary. This project aligns with my personal concerns about the unlisted side effects and being part of a research study from the University of Granada myself I'd find it very useful to have access to a similar integration on a period tracker app. The challenge of incorporating different features through the current app UI has been interesting as I had to incorporate new content not just in one section. I was pleased to see how the usability testing results showed the users found the journey intuitive and natural. Being in charge of designing the Covid-19 vaccine section has helped to gain more understanding of the procedures universities and institutions take in order to address the population's health concerns.