Digital Female Health: Advancing Women-Centric Human-Computer Interaction Research

Hormonal changes in the female body function much like an underlying operating system on a computer – constantly running in the background, influencing every aspect of operation, often unnoticed yet crucially impactful. Hormonal dynamics over the life course such as those associated with the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, or the menopausal transition orchestrate a myriad of physiological and psychological processes that shape women’s health , well-being, and behavior, influencing everything from cognitive function and emotional regulation to pain perception, energy levels, and mood, which can also significantly impact individuals’ behavior and thus their interactions with digital health technologies (DHTs). This position paper discusses the need for systematically integrating female-specific data into human-computer interaction (HCI) research in general and the development of DHTs in particular. It further discusses some of the challenges associated with collecting such data and argues for the methodological standardization of sex- and gender-sensitive research methodologies in HCI to enhance the inclusivity and accuracy of DHTs.