Heavy and prolonged periods, also known as hypermenorrhea or menorrhagia, can be very stressful for girls and young women. The iron deficiency that often occurs as a result brings with it a whole range of symptoms that hurt well-being and thus also have an impact on everyday life – in addition to the heavy bleeding itself. Although those affected may notice the increased blood loss, it is difficult for them to assess from a layman’s perspective how much the bleeding deviates from the normal range or whether therapeutic measures need to be taken.

To make blood loss “measurable”, we developed an app with a customer some time ago that monitors the menstrual cycle and allows the volume of blood lost to be recorded more accurately. For this purpose, the corresponding pictogram is selected in the app each time the hygiene product is changed. An intelligent algorithm then calculates the respective amount of blood.

Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen-Küffer, Scientific Director of the NGO Sight and Life, approached us because she saw great potential in the app for her new study on severe menstrual blood loss in girls in Malawi. She is conducting the study in cooperation with Wageningen University (The Netherlands). Sight and Life is particularly committed to helping women and children from vulnerable population groups. In addition to its focus on nutrition, the organization is committed to improving the treatment of girls and young women with iron deficiency anemia.

Around 450 schoolgirls aged 15-20 from the Zomba district in Malawi are taking part in the new study. It aims to improve the health and quality of life of adolescent girls who suffer from iron deficiency due to high blood loss during menstruation. To this end, the study investigates the influence of multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) and / or ibuprofen on menstrual blood volume and iron loss. In addition, the effects of the treatment on menstrual pain, depressive mood, quality of life, and school absenteeism will be recorded. The latter is crucial for continued educational success and, therefore, for the girls’ prospects.

To enable the app to be used as part of the Sight and Life study, we modified it to meet the client’s specific requirements. In addition to the availability in the local language, Chichewa, the initial questionnaire was also redesigned. Other hygiene products, including the corresponding pictograms, were created, and the data export options were expanded.

Parents and schoolgirls will be informed in advance about the study objectives, the process, and the requirements for participation at school information events. All girls will be given a smartphone with the pre-installed app and log the change of their hygiene products every day. After attending school, volunteers will check the data in the app and collect the used menstrual pads to hand them over to the study center for analysis and to determine the menstrual blood and iron levels. “The app is instrumental to our research, as it allows us to obtain further information on the level of blood loss and the girls’ well-being,” says Kesso Gabrielle van Zutphen-Küffer.