Assessment of applications on women’s sexual and gynecological health

Abstract

Objective  to assess the quality of applications on women’s sexual and gynecological health.

Methodology  a four-stage study: objective definition, inclusion and exclusion criteria, search strategy, and assessment; platform search (October 2024); application assessment; and analysis of results. Applications focused on women’s sexual and gynecological health were included, excluding applications for professionals or for use in hospital settings, duplicates, paid or restricted-use applications, or games.

Results  of the 741 applications, 32 were included, predominantly applications focusing on the menstrual cycle and with a mean quality score of 3.5. “Cycles: Period & Cycle Tracker” received the highest score (4.6). The texts presented low credibility and low adoption of scientific evidence.

Conclusion and implications for practices  the applications analyzed promote self-care but are limited, leaving gaps in other gynecological conditions. There is a need for updated, educational, and evidence-based tools. The applications assessed primarily focus on the menstrual cycle and present minimal or acceptable quality. The gaps found in the results highlight the need for the development of women’s health education technologies.

Keywords:
Mobile Applications; Women’s Health; Sexual Health; Technologies