Considerations for Health Care Services Related to the Menstrual Cycle

Abstract

This study focused on information provision, which is an issue in promoting women’s work styles in consideration of health issues related to the menstrual cycle and examined how to provide information in consideration of the convenience of both users and service purchasers, incorporating the process of party research based on the HCD process, and devised a health care service. First, a survey of problems and support cases related to the menstrual cycle was conducted to understand the usage situation. As a result, we found that users felt “nanka-gomen,” defined as “a feeling of sorry or guilt for causing inconvenience to others due to physiological phenomena that are out of one’s control, difficult to control, and hard to explain,” and that there were no products or services that directly support such problems. In addition, “nanka-gomen” was categorized into three factors: “physical burden to the surroundings,” “mental burden to the surroundings,” and “hygienic consideration to the surroundings. Next, to clarify the requirements, structuring from the definition of it and the emotional factors, “lack of knowledge” and “difficulty in communication” were identified as requirements. This led to the proposal of “a self-check service based on the degree of impact on life during PMS and menstruation” and “communication icons for communicating non-verbal health problems” as information provision methods and health care services. These services are expected to enable women to work without strain by making it easier for them to understand their condition, know how to cope appropriately, and communicate their health problems.