Effectiveness of tracking cycle mobile applications as a contraceptive Method: A systematic review
Maíra Reis Silva1, Edson Santos Ferreira-Filho2, Felipe Favorette Campanharo3
1Universidade Santo Amaro, São Paulo, Brazil.
Introduction:
Preventing unwanted pregnancies is essential for women of childbearing age. The increasing demand for non-hormonal, non-invasive contraceptive methods and the desire for greater body awareness have increased the use of fertility monitoring applications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mobile applications as a contraceptive method.
Methods:
The systematic review was carried out in accordance with the PRISMA statement and registered in PROSPERO. An electronic search was performed in the PubMed/MEDLINE and LILACS databases, up to December 2024, using the following search strategy: ["mobile application" OR "mobile app" OR "app" AND "contraception"].
Results:
A total of 122 records were identified; after duplicate removal and screening of titles and abstracts, nine studies were assessed in full text, and six met the inclusion criteria. The quality of the studies was considered low, as all of them were classified as poor quality due to failures to control bias and a high rate of loss to follow-up. Two mobile applications were analyzed for efficacy, effectiveness and cumulative probability of pregnancy: Natural Cycles and Dynamic Optimal Timing (Dot). The studies showed Pearl Indexes with estimates for typical use between 5.8 and 6.8 and for perfect use between 0.5 and 2, similar to some already established hormonal contraceptive methods. The cumulative probability of pregnancy in the included studies varied between 5.8% and 8.3%.
Conclusion:
Even with the increasing use of mobile applications as a contraceptive tool, the lack of well-designed studies and representative samples limits the evaluation of their effectiveness. Further studies, including randomized clinical trials and comparative studies with traditional methods, are needed to validate the real effectiveness of these devices as a contraceptive method.
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