2016 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 105-113
PMS (Premenstrual syndrome) is an uncomfortable condition characterized with various kinds of affective and somatic symptoms which often occur reproducibly during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Its clinical diagnosis is based on the prospective daily recording of menstruation-associated symptoms. We developed a novel system of symptom-recording by a smartphone application (app) which collects and saves the data concerning the women's daily health condition. As a feasibility study, the 28 participants were randomly divided into 2 groups and they challenged recording for 84 days ; using the smartphone app (in the ‘app' group) or handwriting on pape (r in the ‘paper' group) . There was no significant difference in the number of days on which they exerted recording. Surveying their impressions by a questionnaire, we found the tendency that feeling of being connected with the clinician was stronger in the app group and that introspection and self-care were more encouraged in the paper group. The recording in the smartphone app induced no adverse events and was shown to promote the doctor-patient communication. Since the daily recording itself has preferable effects on PMS, the ICT systems may be utilized effectively and widely in the general public in order to improve women's healthcare.
