Trial reportJMIR mHealth and uHealth2024
Efficacy of the Flo App in Improving Health Literacy, Menstrual and General Health, and Well-Being in Women: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07598929 (Effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence Supported Mobile Education Compared With Face-to-Face and Brochure-Based Education on Dysmenorrhea Self-Care and Genital Hygiene Behaviors in Adolescent Girls), which is not on this map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence Supported Mobile Education Compared With Face-to-Face and Brochure-Based Education on Dysmenorrhea Self-Care and Genital Hygiene Behaviors in Adolescent Girls: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Self-management strategies for menstrual cycle symptoms: a systematic review.BMC women's health · 2026Pooled it
- Enhancing patient knowledge and behaviour through digital health communication: a systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of mobile, web-based, social media, telehealth, and AI-enabled interventions.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of digital healthcare in managing menstrual symptoms: a systematic review.Women's health nursing (Seoul, Korea) · 2025Pooled it
- Psychosocial and menstrual correlates of premenstrual disorders: A community-based study.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026Article
- Identifying the dimensions and components influencing health literacy and self-care in endometriosis: a scoping review.Reproductive health · 2026Article
- Menstrual cycle hormonal fluctuations and their associations with athletic performance and injury susceptibility in female athletes.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- Acceptability and Use of Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Chatbots for Sexual and Reproductive Health Among Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women of Color in the United States: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Self-Guided Mental Health Interventions for Premenstrual Mood Symptoms.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- State of Menstrual Health Education in 2024: Content Analysis of US K-12 Public School Education Standards.The Journal of school health · 2025Article
- Association between shift/night work and irregular periods and period pain among two cohorts of Australian women 16 years apart: findings from the Australian longitudinal study on women's health.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2025Article
- Menstrual Health Education Using a Specialized Large Language Model in India: Development and Evaluation Study of MenstLLaMA.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Digital support for female students in physical education universities in Japan.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- 28 days later: A prospective daily study on psychological well-being across the menstrual cycle and the effects of hormones and oral contraceptives.Psychological medicine · 2025Article
- Mobile applications available in Saudi Arabia for the management of Primary Dysmenorrhea: A quality review and content analysis.PloS one · 2025Article
- Impact of the Flo Cycle Tracking App on menstrual knowledge and health in low-income and middle-income countries: a longitudinal study.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Exercise and physical activity changes during the menstrual cycle in users of the Flo app.Women's health (London, England)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundReproductive health literacy and menstrual health awareness play a crucial role in ensuring the health and well-being of women and people who menstruate. Further, awareness of one's own menstrual cycle patterns and associated symptoms can help individuals identify and manage conditions of the menstrual cycle such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Digital health products, and specifically menstrual health apps, have the potential to effect positive change due to their scalability and ease of access.
objectiveThe primary aim of this study was to measure the efficacy of a menstrual and reproductive health app, Flo, in improving health literacy and health and well-being outcomes in menstruating individuals with and without PMS and PMDD. Further, we explored the possibility that the use of the Flo app could positively influence feelings around reproductive health management and communication about health, menstrual cycle stigma, unplanned pregnancies, quality of life, work productivity, absenteeism, and body image.
methodsWe conducted 2 pilot, 3-month, unblinded, 2-armed, remote randomized controlled trials on the effects of using the Flo app in a sample of US-based (1) individuals who track their cycles (n=321) or (2) individuals who track their cycles and are affected by PMS or PMDD (n=117).
resultsThe findings revealed significant improvements at the end of the study period compared to baseline for our primary outcomes of health literacy (cycle tracking: D̄=1.11; t
conclusionsThese pilot randomized controlled trials demonstrate that the use of the Flo app improves menstrual health literacy and awareness, general health and well-being, and PMS or PMDD symptom burden. Considering the widespread use and affordability of the Flo app, these findings show promise for filling important gaps in current health care provisioning such as improving menstrual knowledge and health.
trial registrationOSF Registries osf.io/pcgw7; https://osf.io/pcgw7 ; OSF Registries osf.io/ry8vq; https://osf.io/ry8vq.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.