Manhart, M. D. (2020). A Comparison of User Behaviors for a Fertility-Tracking App: Does Training in an NFP Method Improve Persistence and Use? The Linacre Quarterly, 87(1), 53-59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0024363919870435
Manhart MD. A Comparison of User Behaviors for a Fertility-Tracking App: Does Training in an NFP Method Improve Persistence and Use? Linacre Q. 2020;87(1):53-59. doi:10.1177/0024363919870435
Manhart, Michael D. "A Comparison of User Behaviors for a Fertility-Tracking App: Does Training in an NFP Method Improve Persistence and Use?" The Linacre Quarterly, vol. 87, no. 1, 2020, pp. 53-59.
Couple to Couple League members used CycleProGo longer than nonmembers
An analysis of 17,543 anonymous CycleProGo™ app accounts, opened between April 2013 and June 2016, found that members of Couple to Couple League (CCL) used the app longer than nonmembers. About 6 out of 10 nonmember accounts had no days of use after opening, against about 2 out of 10 CCL member accounts.
Study at a glance, cohort study of 17,543 CPG accounts: Couple to Couple League members used the app longer than nonmembers. Source: Manhart MD, 2020, PMID 32431448.
Key Findings
Nonmembers opened 58 percent (n = 10,134) of the accounts and CCL members 38 percent (n = 6,758). Of 639 CCL teachers, 207 also used the app for their own charting.
Zero days of use after opening: 61 percent (n = 6,214) of nonmember accounts against 23 percent (n = 1,549) of CCL member accounts (p < .001).
Use for ninety days or longer: 47 percent (n = 3,147) of CCL member accounts against 13 percent (n = 1,285) of nonmember accounts (p < .001).
Among accounts with a complete cycle, 26 percent of CCL student and 20 percent of nonmember accounts reached six or more cycles; among 2014 and 2015 accounts, 38 and 23 percent.
Cycle days with a recorded observation, in accounts with a complete cycle: 95 percent for CCL students, 88 percent for other CCL members, 76 percent for nonmembers, 73 percent for teachers.
Interpretation
This cohort study analyzed anonymous account records from a Couple to Couple League app. Three groups were compared: nonmembers, CCL members and CCL teachers. A second comparison of nonmembers with CCL students, who started the app during formal NFP classes, showed the same direction of difference. The author suggests that fewer recorded days among teachers and long-term users may reflect their knowledge of personal fertility patterns. Long-term users, whatever their training, will likely log observations on about 70 percent of cycle days. The author notes that the anonymous data did not identify the type and timing of instruction, which does not materially change the general themes. The findings support larger studies of how formal NFP instruction shapes long-term charting behavior.
RRM Context
Cycle charts kept with fertility awareness-based methods inform restorative reproductive medicine. This app follows the symptothermal method. New students in formal NFP classes recorded observations on the most cycle days.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
This study explores differences in the use of CycleProGo™ (CPG), a fertility-tracking app developed by Couple to Couple League (CCL), between those exposed to it as a part of natural family planning (NFP) instruction versus those who find it on their own. An anonymous data set of 17,543 CPG accounts opened between April 2013 and June 2016 was used for analysis. Nonmember users opened the most accounts (58 percent, n = 10,134), CCL members represented 38 percent (n = 6,758) of new accounts, and 207 CCL teachers (4 percent) were using CPG for personal charting. Significantly more nonmember accounts had zero days of use after the initial opening compared to CCL member accounts (61 percent vs. 23 percent, respectively, χ(2) = 2,405.9, p < .001). Conversely, significantly more CCL member accounts were used for ninety days or longer than nonmember accounts (47 percent vs. 13 percent, respectively, χ(2) = 2,404.2, p < .001). CCL students-those who began using the app as part of a formal NFP teaching curriculum-were more likely to use the app for > six cycles compared to nonmembers. In accounts with at least one complete cycle, CCL students were the most diligent at daily recording (95 percent of cycle days with observation recorded) followed by CCL members (88 percent) and nonmembers (76 percent). CCL teachers had the lowest frequency of cycle days with a recorded observation (73 percent). Within each cohort, accounts with > six recorded cycles had a lower proportion of cycle days with an observation recorded, likely reflecting increasing knowledge of their personal fertility patterns. Long-term users who had no known formal training in NFP still had the lowest proportion cycle days with a fertility observation. We conclude formal NFP instruction increases the probability of long-term app use, and regardless of training, long-term users will likely record observations on about 70 percent of cycle days.
Summary
"CycleProGo™ users with NFP training were more persistent and diligent about daily data input than those without training."
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