The Hormone Effect is an app that’s currently being developed as part of a Ripple Scale Challenge cohort.
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Contraceptive misinformation is attracting billions of views. This app is being built as a trusted, multilingual alternative.
The Hormone Effect
Women face a growing information challenge when making decisions about contraception. Decades of inadequate contraceptive research and limited data on side effects have left unanswered questions, leading many women to seek information on social media. Popular contraceptive content on TikTok has collectively attracted billions of views, yet only a small proportion is created by medical professionals.
At the same time, accessible translated contraceptive information remains limited. This can make it difficult for clinicians to support patients who struggle to read English or who need information presented in clearer, more accessible formats. The consequences of unmet contraceptive needs are significant: 45% of pregnancies in England are unplanned or associated with ambivalence, while inequalities in access to contraceptive care persist. The app presents all methods available without pressure or preference so users can make their own choices of what is best for them.
Dr Rebecca Mawson is an NHS GP and NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer and co-founder of the Women's HealthTech Innovation Network in South Yorkshire. With over eight years of published research on contraceptive access for underserved populations, she has spent her career building the evidence base that makes this app possible. The Hormone Effect app solves a problem she is seeing every day in her practice.
“Women from ethnic minority communities, including Urdu, Arabic, and Somali speakers, are shaping it from inception, ensuring the app reflects the women who need it most rather than a version of them imagined from the outside.”
The Hormone Effect is being developed as a professionally validated contraceptive app. Its initial version will include information on more than 15 contraceptive methods, interactive comparison tools, guidance on navigating UK contraceptive services, symptom tracking, red-flag information and evidence-based myth-busting content.
Selected parts of the app will initially be available in Arabic, Urdu, Somali, Punjabi and Polish, helping make essential guidance more accessible to women who may struggle to find reliable information in their preferred language. Future versions aim to translate the full app into these and additional languages.
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FOUNDER
Dr. Rebecca Mawson
NHS GP and NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer, University of Sheffield | Founder, The Hormone Effect
NHS GP and NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer, University of Sheffield | Founder, The Hormone Effect
Dr Rebecca Mawson is an NHS GP and NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Primary Care at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on sexual and reproductive health, including contraceptive access and the experiences of under-represented populations.
She is a member of the Advisory Group for Contraception and the Cross-NIHR Women and Girls Health Collaboration, and co-founded the Women’s HealthTech Innovation Network in South Yorkshire. Through her clinical practice and research, she is working to improve access to trusted reproductive health information and services for populations that have historically been under-represented.
