Researchers at Georgetown University’s Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) have launched a year-long study to measure the efficacy of Dot™, a phone app designed to help users avoid unintended pregnancy. Available for both iPhones and Androids, the Dot (Dynamic Optimal Timing) app uses an algorithm to accurately predict a woman’s pregnancy risk for each day of her cycle, flagging high and low fertility days. The smart phone app essentially “learns” a woman’s cycles as she enters her period start dates. This creates a tailored fertility window specific to the particular woman.
With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, IRH will recruit and follow 1200 women who wish to avoid pregnancy for one year. The prospective efficacy study will allow researchers to assess how women use the phone application in real life – including how they interpret the messages and information they receive about their fertility window and how they act on that information to achieve their reproductive goals.
It is estimated that by 2020, more than 70% of world’s population will have access to smartphones. The Dot app attempts to harness this expanding technology to expand women’s family planning options. For more information about the study, visit www.DotStudy.org.