Diseases affecting the vulva and vagina have a strong impact on the lives of women who suffer from it. These issues are widespread in the female population and are expected to further increase in the coming years. Detection of these conditions is often linked to the occurrence of vague symptoms such as itching and pain. Therefore, it is difficult for gynecologists - who are currently not very specialized in this area - to make a definite diagnosis exclusively on the basis of an objective examination. This leads to a widespread proposal of aggressive and counterproductive treatments, which weaken the vaginal microbiota and expose them more to the development of new infections. This treatment practice produces clinical scenarios in which the presence of infections becomes increasingly frequent. These are known as relapsing diseases, cases that are difficult to treat and which also have important repercussions on psycho-sexual health. Another aspect to consider is the economic burden borne entirely by patients. In fact, the high cost of specialist visits and the long waiting times often lead women to resort to self-diagnosis, which (if wrong) further compromises the situation. The scenario described above highlights the common need for support when symptoms reoccur. This is an unexplored field from a design point of view, but it allows a wide margin for intervention. In order to identify the most promising area for action, the questionnaire represented an important resource, useful for investigating the most urgent problems and guiding the elaboration of solutions. Listening to the problems reported (especially by women suffering from recurrent infections) it emerged the need to be able to monitor vulvo-vaginal health independently, establishing a more immediate communication between patient and expert, in order to reduce the number of accesses in the clinic. Hi-Gina is a product-service entirely dedicated to vulvo-vaginal health that fits into the Femtech sector. In addition to being a monitoring and self-diagnosis tool for infections, it is an ecosystem that offers support during emergencies and allows to create a digital link between users and specialists. A system that stimulates self-knowledge and makes the care for vulvo-vaginal health an act of self-love.
Le patologie che interessano vulva e vagina hanno un forte impatto sulle vite delle donne che ne soffrono. Si tratta di problematiche ampiamente diffuse nella popolazione femminile, di cui è prevista un'ulteriore tendenza al rialzo per i prossimi anni. L'individuazione di tali patologie resta spesso vincolata al manifestarsi di sintomi di vago inquadramento come prurito e dolore. Pertanto, anche per gli stessi ginecologi – ad oggi, scarsamente specializzati in merito – risulta difficile elaborare una diagnosi certa attraverso il solo esame obiettivo. Ciò determina una diffusa proposta di cure aggressive e controproducenti, che indeboliscono il microbiota vaginale ed espongono più facilmente allo sviluppo di nuove infezioni. Tale prassi di trattamento produce scenari clinici in cui la presenza di infezioni si fa sempre più frequente. Queste sono note come patologie recidivanti, casi difficili da trattare che hanno ripercussioni importanti anche sulla salute psico-sessuale. Altro aspetto da considerare è l'onere economico totalmente a carico delle pazienti. Infatti, l’alto costo delle visite specialistiche e i lunghi tempi d'attesa, portano spesso le donne a ricorrere all’auto-diagnosi, che (se errata) compromette maggiormente la situazione. Lo scenario fin qui descritto evidenzia l'esigenza trasversale di supporto al ripresentarsi dei sintomi. Questo è un campo ancora poco esplorato dal punto di vista progettuale, ma che permette un ampio margine di intervento. Al fine di individuare l’area di azione più promettente, il questionario ha rappresentato una risorsa importante, utile ad indagare le problematiche più urgenti su cui agire e guidare nell’elaborazione della soluzione. Dall’ascolto delle problematiche segnalate soprattutto dalle donne che soffrono di infezioni ricorrenti, è emersa la necessità di poter monitorare in modo autonomo la salute vulvo-vaginale, instaurando una comunicazione più immediata tra paziente ed esperto, al fine di ridurre il numero di accessi in ambulatorio. Hi-Gina è un prodotto-servizio interamente dedicato alla salute vulvo-vaginale che si inserisce nel settore Femtech. Oltre ad essere strumento di monitoraggio e di auto-diagnosi per infezioni, è un ecosistema che offre supporto durante le emergenze e che permette di creare un legame digitale tra utenti e specialisti. Un sistema che stimola la conoscenza di sé e che fa della cura verso la salute vulvo-vaginale un atto di amore per se stessi.
Hi-Gina. Supporto all'auto-osservazione ed auto-diagnosi nell'ambito delle infezioni vulvo-vaginali
Pesarini, Greta
2020/2021
Abstract
Diseases affecting the vulva and vagina have a strong impact on the lives of women who suffer from it. These issues are widespread in the female population and are expected to further increase in the coming years. Detection of these conditions is often linked to the occurrence of vague symptoms such as itching and pain. Therefore, it is difficult for gynecologists - who are currently not very specialized in this area - to make a definite diagnosis exclusively on the basis of an objective examination. This leads to a widespread proposal of aggressive and counterproductive treatments, which weaken the vaginal microbiota and expose them more to the development of new infections. This treatment practice produces clinical scenarios in which the presence of infections becomes increasingly frequent. These are known as relapsing diseases, cases that are difficult to treat and which also have important repercussions on psycho-sexual health. Another aspect to consider is the economic burden borne entirely by patients. In fact, the high cost of specialist visits and the long waiting times often lead women to resort to self-diagnosis, which (if wrong) further compromises the situation. The scenario described above highlights the common need for support when symptoms reoccur. This is an unexplored field from a design point of view, but it allows a wide margin for intervention. In order to identify the most promising area for action, the questionnaire represented an important resource, useful for investigating the most urgent problems and guiding the elaboration of solutions. Listening to the problems reported (especially by women suffering from recurrent infections) it emerged the need to be able to monitor vulvo-vaginal health independently, establishing a more immediate communication between patient and expert, in order to reduce the number of accesses in the clinic. Hi-Gina is a product-service entirely dedicated to vulvo-vaginal health that fits into the Femtech sector. In addition to being a monitoring and self-diagnosis tool for infections, it is an ecosystem that offers support during emergencies and allows to create a digital link between users and specialists. A system that stimulates self-knowledge and makes the care for vulvo-vaginal health an act of self-love.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/188946