Fostering Reproductive Health Education: The  Importance of Digital Tools in Enhancing Women’s Health Literacy and Autonomy

Fostering Reproductive Health Education: The Importance of Digital Tools in Enhancing Women’s Health Literacy and Autonomy

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Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade in the US, the need for health education has skyrocketed.

According to a survey by Flo Health, 70% of people aged 18 to 44 want to learn more about their health in the US, but this is getting more difficult as access to this information is getting harder to come by. And in a society where 30% of women only learned about menstruation after they started their first period, it’s clear that women aren’t being educated about their bodies.

Fortunately, technology and digital tools are here to save the day. In this article, we’ll explore why technology is necessary to help women learn about their reproductive health. We’ll also look at why technology isn’t always a substitute for government and international intervention.

Why Reproductive Health Education is Hard to Come By

It’s known that the majority (90%) of the world’s adolescents (aged 10-19) live in low and middle-income countries or LMICs. These settings are often resource-limited, meaning young girls usually don’t receive education in social studies, healthcare, and local/world economics.

Globally, 2.4 billion women of working age (15-64) from 178 economies don’t have the same legal rights as men. While strides have been made to close the gap, women, both socially and legally, aren’t considered equals to men.

But this only scratches the surface as to why some women and girls are uneducated about reproductive health. The odds are stacked against women and girls from the start because:

In the United Kingdom, only 2.5% of publicly funded research is dedicated to reproductive health and childbirth despite the fact that 1/3 of women experience reproductive or gynecological problems. Medical research favors men, as “women’s bodies are too complex due to fluctuating hormones,” and thus, women are excluded.
There is little research on PMS, despite 90% of women having it and 40% of women not responding to treatments currently available. However, a quick search on ResearchGate will reveal that there are “over five times more studies into erectile dysfunction than into premenstrual syndrome.” Only 19% of men experience erectile dysfunction.

This problem isn’t just limited to girls. In the United States, fewer teens are learning about methods of birth control and the reproductive system. Both girls and boys have seen a rise in abstinence-only education since 2011. This is occurring despite research that comprehensive sex education is effective at preventing disease and helping teens learn about their bodies.

Sexism, low resources, and a lack of access to sexual education in schools have made women and girls out of touch with themselves and their bodies. Although the fault isn’t their own, these barriers are the cause of disastrous implications for women’s health and gender equality.

The Results of Poor Reproductive Health Education

An INTIMINA poll of 2,000 women found that 1/10 “couldn’t correctly identify a diagram of a women’s reproductive system.” In this poll, 1/4 misidentified the vagina, a little less than half misidentified the cervix, and over half misidentified the uterus. Only 63% of women could correctly identify the reproductive cycle, and many women didn’t know what menopause was.

This lack of education isn’t a laughing matter, as it can lead to the following:

Women won’t know if a symptom is normal or abnormal. Even if they’re well educated, a lack of education on someone else’s front could mean delayed treatment.
It will be difficult for women to take an active role in their care if they don’t understand how their reproductive system works. It will be harder for them to prevent disease, get pregnant, access adequate care, and speak to their children about themselves.
Sexism. 1/5 women report that a doctor ignored or dismissed their symptoms. While women are 76% more likely to visit a doctor than men, 45% of women are seen as complainers. 65% of women with chronic pain felt their pain wasn’t taken seriously.
In the United States, poor reproductive health education is a likely cause of the high maternal mortality rate. It’s estimated that 60% of maternal deaths are preventable.

While having local government support speaking out to dispel reproductive health stigma is a massive part of the equation, we can’t afford to wait for these changes. Fortunately, technology can help bridge the education gap and give women the power to care for themselves.

How Technology Can Close the Health Literacy Gap

No woman should ever be embarrassed of not understanding their body. There are simply too many barriers that prevent girls from seeking the help and education they need. Enter technology: a space where women and girls can safely learn about reproductive health.

While the jury is still out on determining the most effective content for sexual health apps, we do know what women wish they knew about the reproductive system thanks to a Statista poll:

What different organs do (42%)
Menopause and perimenopause (38%)
When a woman is most fertile (35%)
How the reproductive system works (31%)
Stages of pregnancy (29%)
Menstruation (16%)
Puberty (8%)

We already have tools that do a great job of teaching these topics. For example, Flo’s tool can help you calculate your estimated pregnancy due date. Its mobile app can also give women access to a wide variety of accurate health information revolving around women’s health from anywhere.

When formal education isn’t sufficient, mobile apps and peer-reviewed courses can be a great way to educate women about their reproductive health. With that said, leaflets and surface-level knowledge won’t cut it. It’s important for these educational resources to sort fact from fiction and provide data-driven personalization to enable real change when it comes to behaviors.

However, with the right resources, it’s possible for both men and women to learn more about the female reproductive system, which could reduce sexism. If anything, being more knowledgeable would encourage women to seek more information about their reproductive health.

What’s more, this technology shouldn’t be in the hands of the few. But this is the reality.

Challenges of Technology and the Health Literacy Gap

While technology can and does impact the lives of women all over the world, this isn’t the end-all-be-all solution. A study on well-educated Swedes found that you’re more likely to access personal health information if you’re already knowledgeable about health topics.

This makes a lot of sense because it wouldn’t seem necessary to look up information about your health if you assume you know the answer. But this means those who need it the most are less likely to seek the education or health interventions they need. For this reason, it’s a good idea to stress the importance of continuing education, as science on health is hardly stagnant.

We also have to consider patriarchal ideology and gender-based violence found in other countries that prevent women from accessing technology. To use this technology to its full extent, women have to be technologically savvy and have the ability to read and write.

With that said, in societies where technology is abundant and access to great reproductive resources is readily available, technology is undoubtedly a fantastic tool for women.

In Conclusion…

Giving women all over the world access to reproductive health education is no easy task. It requires a significant amount of government intervention and technology to make it happen.

Fortunately, many women in the US have access to technology that can improve their health and wellness by going to the doctor. For example, if you are currently attending The City University of New York, you can access our health and wellness services on campus.

And if you want to take a more active role in providing health education to the masses, you can build your own app or piece of tech after you receive a computer science degree.

Don’t forget to learn more about your body! There may be some things you don’t know or understand, and this knowledge can help you seek well-educated reproductive care.