A new women’s health app designed to provide guidance and education on the menopause has been launched – and we’re already freeing up storage to download it.
Caria: Menopause & Midlife was developed by US entrepreneurs Arfa Rehman and Scott Gorman after they noticed a pressing need for accessible, reputable information on the subject.
While significant progress has been made in the field of menopause treatment in recent years, such as the rise of hormone replacement therapy, many women still feel unequipped to navigate this turbulent time of their lives. In fact, research shows that 63% of women in the UK believe that menopause has negatively impacted their career, while 50% of those who are yet to experience the change are afraid of approaching it.
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“There is a lack of education about menopause and its treatments in the medical community, as only 20 percent of ob-gyn residency programs in the US have a formal menopause curriculum,” said Rehman.
With such insufficient resources available, women are often driven to desperate measures to find relief from their symptoms. In the US alone, women spend an average of $20,000 every year on medical appointments and health products in an attempt to treat menopausal ailments, which can include night sweats, hot flushes, and hair loss.
As CEO, Rehman wants to empower the female population to understand and manage their symptoms without scalping their bank account. Created in collaboration with women’s health professionals, Caria offers its users medical expertise on the menopause at the touch of their fingertips.
The treatment plan is also custom-made for the user. Rather than doling out a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, Caria personalizes its advice to suit the requirements of the individual.
Women record their symptoms by chatting with an AI-powered assistant, who then utilizes this information to curate a unique program for each user. Importantly, the app prioritizes determining the stage of menopause before prescribing a plan. Women experience three phases over the course of the change – perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause, and each period is marked by differing symptoms. It is crucial to ascertain which stage the woman is at, to ensure her treatment plan appropriately caters to her particular needs.
As well as providing information on medical treatments for menopause, Caria also shares a range of holistic approaches. Women can expect to find tailored advice on nutrition, fitness and mental wellbeing – all integral factors in managing menopause symptoms.
Rehman hopes that the information gathered on the app will also contribute to the medical discourse on menopause and accelerate research on the subject. There is currently limited understanding of the menopause in the scientific community, due to a lack of data on the matter. She believes that, by sharing their own experiences, users of the app can help science to “determine how we can optimize women’s care during menopause to make a meaningful impact on their long-term health.”
