COMMUNICATING HEALTH INFORMATION THROUGH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A SURVEY OF COOU FEMALE UNDERGRADUATES’ USAGE OF FLO PERIOD & OVULATION TRACKER

Abstract

Some years ago, period and fertility tracking consisted in taking records of one’s menstruation days online or offline. Nowadays, with the help of new technology, women can track a variety of symptoms, get advice on conceiving, explore pregnancy insights, and even manage irregular periods. A major breakthrough in this domain has recently been done by Flo Period Tracker – the first-period tracking app to publicly announce using artificial intelligence for improving cycle predictions. This study, therefore, evaluated the knowledge and usage of Flo Period and Ovulation Tracker among female students of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University to track their periods and ovulations to understand their sexual health and plan their sexual activities to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Anchored on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the study adopted the survey method with a sample size of 384 drawn from a population of 10,267. The study found that the majority of the students have use the AI-assisted period and ovulation tracker Flo to track and monitor their periods and ovulations from time to time. However, it was found that the intention of usage differs as some use the app to monitor and plan their sexual activities others use the app to monitor their sexual health in the case of irregular menstruation and anovulation to seek medical treatment. The study recommended that Flo should be more interactive by adding voice to the app and be linked to various hospitals users can contact for fast medical attention. Keywords: Health Information, Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge and Usage, Flo Period and Ovulation Tracker.