Medical misinformation has real-world implications for patients, especially young women, according to a recent report.
Nearly three-quarters of women ages 18-44 want to better understand the Flo Health women’s health, period and ovulation tracker found.
The report indicated that unsurprisingly, women are increasingly turning to social media to learn about women’s health.
Nearly two-thirds of young women reported learning more about women’s health on social media than in school. Similarly, nearly 20% of all women surveyed said they went to YouTube, social media, or other online forums to find information about menstrual health.
Among other findings, Flo found that 33% of women don’t know it’s possible to get a sexually transmitted infection (STI) without penetrative sex and that more than half of women don’t know how many days they are fertile each month.
Additionally, 62% of women reported not knowing about PCOS, while 50% said they were unfamiliar with endometriosis.
There are also gaps in education about menstruation: 58% of women reported feeling that menstrual pain or PMS was “just something to deal with” and nearly 60% of women said they didn’t know what a menstrual cycle is “normal”.
Some of the gaps in knowledge can be attributed to the lack of a sex education system: only 38 states require sex education, and 19 states teach abstinence as a form of birth control.
“Female anatomy diagrams and abstinence recommendations with little or no emotional or practical guidance leave girls and women without the skills and knowledge to manage their cycles or have a healthy sex life,” Flo concluded.
The findings shed light on misinformation and a lack of education about women’s health, in light of the abortion restrictions being implemented across the country after Roe.
“After the annulment of Roe v. Wade, we are in for a perfect storm,” Flo wrote in a statement. “Women’s health clinics are closing, doctors fear prosecution, and the education system does not adequately teach reproductive health. As credible sources of information disappear, [women] they are looking for answers online, where they are faced with widespread misinformation.”
Navigating the post-Roe landscape has been a critical issue for Flo.
Last year, the company launched “anonymous mode” for your application to help users avoid being identified with their health and period tracking data. The company said it launched the new feature to help protect users’ reproductive health information, as many women fear their data could be used against them in states where abortion is criminal.
As for the widespread lack of awareness and education about menstruation, Flo argued that this trend could lead to serious health complications, such as missed diagnoses and delayed treatment for conditions like PCOS or endometriosis.
The report identified TikTok as very much a part of the “medical wild west.” Disinformation around issues such as “free births”, birth control or periods are pretty much everywhere on the platform. Additionally, a recent report found that nearly 84% of mental health videos on TikTok are misleading.
Flo suggests that women can counter misinformation online by checking the qualifications of sources, avoiding buying ‘miracle’ cures, and seeking references for medical claims. It’s always healthy to question claims made by so-called “experts” on social media, the company suggested.
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