Understanding menstrual experiences: A holistic approach to women's health
Design research - Menstrual health - Care - Becoming aware
This project aims to explore the diverse menstrual experiences of menstruators, specifically focusing on women aged 18 to 45. By using design mapping methods like journey maps and experience maps, the project seeks to understand the unique challenges and needs across different menstrual stages.
My Role
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Conducted comprehensive user research and synthesized insights from existing literature and direct user interactions.
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Applied diverse analytical techniques to extract actionable insights from collected data.
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Delivered visually engaging presentations to effectively communicate findings and analysis to stakeholders
Research questions
1. How do menstruation and the body mediate a woman's menstrual experience?
2. How can knowledge about menstruation enhance that experience?
3. How can menstrual care be a preventive measure for abnormal uterine bleeding?
Methodology
Survey
The survey was to gather interested people for a one-on-one interview and to understand women’s knowledge about menstruation and awareness about abnormal uterine bleeding. The survey was sent to the age group of 18 - 45 in the referral method. The total number of survey responses is 38.
Some of the survey questions were,
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At what age did you have your first-period talk?
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Summarize your period experience in 1-3 words.
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Do you track your periods?
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How do you track your periods?
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Have your ever visited doctor regarding periods?
Activity - Love letter or Breakup letter
An activity was conducted on February 13 at the college premises. As it was the Valentine’s week, the activity was to write a love letter or a break-up letter to their periods. This activity was planned to understand what people think about their periods and what kind of emotions they have towards them. Upon taking part in the activity, they were given chocolates as a reward.
Fig.01: Set-up of the activity
Fig.02: Students taking part in the activity
Fig.03: Responses from the activity
Interviews
With participants
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Interview questions were based on 5 parameters: Knowledge of periods, period experience, tracking, seeking care, self-care
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Additional questions for women in their 30s about pregnancy and for women in their 40s about menopause
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Interviews were conducted with survey participants who consented to further discussion
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Interviews via online meetings and phone calls
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16 women interviewed (4 from each age group: 18-20, 20s, 30s, 40s)
With professionals
Two types of professionals were interviewed - Doctors specialized in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Menstrual educators. The questions for both professionals varied. 3 doctors and 2 menstrual educators were interviewed.
Analysis & Findings
Sentiment analysis
Used for analyzing Activity
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The method used to analyze women's emotions toward their periods, is typically used in marketing for customer feedback tones.
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Break-up letter responses: 16
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Love letter responses: 21
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Participants' age group: 18 to 28
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Emotions in love letters: Grateful, understanding, appreciation, relief, longing
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Emotions in break-up letters: Hate, anger, distress, frustration, resentment
A quote from a love letter
“I like that you give me the rest I need, I deserve every month. (Even though it hurts sometimes) Lazing on my bed for 3 days gives me comfort. It’s like I can do anything, I can treat myself.”
A quote from a break-up letter
“I wish I never had you. I’m not even sure I want to have children. Please stop ruining my clothes.”
Fig.04: A snapshot of sentiment analysis
Thematic analysis
Used for analyzing open-ended survey questions
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Thematic analysis is used to uncover patterns/themes from interview data.
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Texts are read multiple times, coded, and formed into themes.
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Inductive approach: Data read without pre-determined codes, focusing on latent meanings.
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Employed to identify themes from open-ended survey question responses.
Fig.05: Thematic analysis of an open-ended survey question
Content analysis
Used for analyzing interview transcripts
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Content analysis is used to discover themes, concepts, and words in qualitative data.
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Analyzed interview transcripts from participants, doctors, and menstrual educators.
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Results aided in creating a journey map and an experience map.
Fig.06: A snapshot of content analysis of a participant's interview transcript
Journey mapping
Used for visualizing survey and interview responses for analyzing
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The Journey map outlines the user's journey over a timeline, providing an overall view.
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Utilized insights from content analysis to illustrate the menstrual journey of women from menarche to peri-menopause.
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Three journey maps were created for:
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Women aged 18-25
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Women in their 30s
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Women in their 40s
Fig.07: Journey map of women aged 18-25
Fig.08: Journey map of women in their 30s
Fig.09: Journey map of women in their 40s
Experience map
Used for visualizing the summary of the responses
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Experience mapping focuses on the user's experience throughout the journey.
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Used to analyze participants' interviews.
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The resulting map can be:
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​Validated with other women.
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Verified with doctors
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Serves as a tool to educate adolescent girls about:
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Their menstrual journey.
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What to expect.
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How to prepare for and manage it
Fig.10: Experience map
Insights
The insights from the primary research of this project pertain to women's knowledge about menstruation and their menstrual journey thus far. Given the wide age range of the interviewees, it was possible to capture the experiences of women with menstruation comprehensively. The journey map and experience map have multiple uses. First, we can invite more women to add their experiences to these maps, gathering additional data to understand the journey better and identify patterns. Second, with the increasing rate of gynecological problems in women, these maps can help design interventions to raise health awareness and enhance their menstrual experience.
My learnings
This project has provided numerous opportunities for learning and personal growth. It pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and explore new areas. The skills I acquired in college helped me manage this project in an organized manner. Focusing on healthcare taught me that there is no one-size-fits-all methodology; instead, it requires adapting existing design methods or creating new ones suited to healthcare research. Approaching healthcare professionals was a challenging task. Through this project, I discovered my strength in research by effectively working with data, employing various analysis methods to deeply analyze it, and uncovering core issues.