Funding Will Advance Research on Women’s Sexual Health Care and Development of a Novel User-App

Dr. Jenny Fremlin, owner of Aflourish Media Psychology and digital director of Glyciome, won one of two 2023 Dianne Kipnes Social Innovation Awards to continue research informing the development of an e-health app. This award includes a ,000 grant to fund the project “Enabling Women to Self-Advocate for Better Sexual Health Care” and a fellowship appointment for Dr. Fremlin with Fielding Graduate University. The grant funds will continue research analyzing language and beliefs that negatively impact young women’s ability to seek genital (“vaginal”) healthcare and prevent diseases including genital cancers (e.g. cervical, ovarian, and uterine cancers). Research during this fellowship will result in a prototype mobile e-health app by Glyciome that women can confidently use for self-care and to foster productive healthcare conversations, no matter their background or health literacy.

For over a decade Dr. Fremlin has worked with Glyciome Principals (Drs. Ellington and Clifton) in learning about the issues women have with understanding everyday genital healthcare and disease prevention. While women struggle with limited opportunities to learn about vaginal health, scientific research shows the most common vaginal infection, bacterial vaginosis, impacts 1 in 4 American women and doubles the risk of costly genital diseases including cervical cancer. This creates an enormous burden on women, their families, and the healthcare system.

“It seems like a simple concept to treat underlying biological risk factors to reduce cancer risks, but when you take into account behaviors and perception around the topic of vaginal health it becomes more complex” said Dr. Fremlin. “Untangling that and being able to connect with women about this uncomfortable topic is where media psychology plays a crucial role. And to do that, we’re starting with our research to find out what women want to know and how they are comfortable talking about their own symptoms and experiences.”

Preliminary data from Glyciome interviews with college women about vaginal health and genital cancer prevention was presented this month at the Annual Global Symposium on Cancer Research. Overall, American women had a surprisingly low understanding of genital cancer risk-factors. More than 80% of women wanted more information on what is “normal” in vaginal health and education that teaches basic biology of genital health, separate from sexual health, for broader uptake across diverse groups who may opt out of portions of current sex ed classes.

The Dianne Kipnes Fund for Social Innovation supports alumni projects that demonstrate innovation and collaboration for improving the lives of individuals, organizations, and/or communities. Institute for Social Innovation Director Charles McClintock, Ph.D., stated the proposal from Dr. Fremlin stood out for being innovative and having the potential to have high impact on a large number of women both nationally and globally.