Charting the Waves of Perimenopause:
A Diary Study on Digital Symptom Tracking

Overview

Role: Principal Investigator
Company: University of Cincinnati and Clue App (Dissertation work)
Timeline: Discovery to reporting (Oct 24 - Feb 25)
Goal: Understand how people actually use Clue’s perimenopause mode and surface design opportunities to improve engagement, usability, and clinical value.

Team

  • Dissertation Advisor Chair, University of Cincinnati

  • Chief Science Officer, Clue

  • Director of Science, Clue

Context & Challenge

Perimenopause is unpredictable—cycles shift, symptoms fluctuate, and clinical recognition often lags. Symptom-tracking apps promise self-insight and better clinical conversations, yet prior evaluations show lower user satisfaction when tracking features dominate.

Research Questions

  1. How does symptom tracking influence self-management of perimenopause?

  2. What benefits and limitations do users perceive in Clue’s perimenopause mode?

  3. How does tracking affect health decisions and clinical encounters?

  4. What challenges or barriers deter continued use?

Methods

Quantitative: Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses (R) of tracking data and SUS scoresApproach: Mixed-methods, two-week diary study

  • Participants: 40 U.S. Clue users (perimenopausal or menopausal, joined perimenopause mode in past 3 months).

  • Data Collection:

    • Daily symptom logs and reflective diary entries

    • App analytics (1,977 tracking events from 16 fully-engaged participants)

    • System Usability Scale (SUS) survey

    • 30-minute semi-structured exit interviews

  • Analysis:

    • Qualitative: Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke) of diaries and interviews

    • Quantitative: Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses (R) of tracking data and SUS scores

 
 

Discovery

  • Participants:

    • Enrolled 40 women in the U.S.

    • Recruitment via Clue in-app banner

    • 0-3 to months using Perimeno Mode

  • Tasks:

    • Use Clue Perimenopause mode to log symptoms

  • Instruments and Artifacts:

    • SUS survey

    • 30-min semi-structured interview

    • Tracking data shared by participants

  • Ethics:
    IRB-approved, anonymous data, securely stored & destroyed post-study.
    Compensation: $50 Amazon gift card.

 
 
 

Key Findings

1. Tracking as Validation & Advocacy

Participants used logs as evidence in clinical visits:

“My doctor wasn’t listening… I needed to present a more holistic picture.” – P38
Tracking strengthened self-awareness and confidence—even when clinicians remained skeptical.

Image: Use Figure 2 – Thematic analysis coding framework
with key codes highlighted (Validation, Advocacy, Usability Feedback).

 
 

2. Two Distinct Tracking Styles

  • Daily Trackers: Consistent multi-category logging

  • Sporadic Trackers: Reactive logging during symptom spikes or before appointments

3. Interconnected Symptoms

Correlation analysis revealed strong links among hot flashes, brain fog, mood swings, and sleep disruption.
These symptoms rarely occurred in isolation, suggesting the need for holistic views rather than siloed metrics.

 
 
 

4. High Usability, Shallow Insights

  • Average SUS: 88.3 (industry benchmark: 68)

  • Users praised the interface but wanted:

    • Customizable symptom categories

    • Richer trend analysis

    • Integration with wearables

Design Opportunities

  1. Customizable Tracking – Let users add or hide symptoms to reduce cognitive load.

  2. Richer Insights & Visualizations – Provide context-sensitive explanations and correlations.

  3. Ecosystem Integration – Sync with fitness trackers and health records.

  4. Adaptive Interfaces – Recognize tracking style (daily vs. sporadic) and tailor prompts or dashboards.

Impact

  • Informed Clue’s roadmap exploration of personalized analytics and wearable integration.

  • Added empirical evidence to feminist HCI scholarship, demonstrating how digital tools enable self-validation and clinical advocacy.

  • Showcased a rigorous mixed-methods approach blending quantitative correlations with rich participant narratives.

Publication

Manuscript in peer-review for CHI 2026 (ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)

Reflection

This project reaffirmed the value of designing with feminist HCI principles:
centering lived experience, resisting over-medicalization, and providing agency through customization and insight.