Up to 36 days a year lost due to menstrual health symptoms

Joii’s latest research, conducted in the UK and Ireland in February 2023, gave us some new insight into just how much menstrual health symptoms impact the daily lives of women and those who menstruate. Worryingly, the data revealed people are missing as much as 36 days’ worth of social events, education, exercise and work every year due to symptoms such as pain, fatigue and mental health impacts

For those with severely debilitating periods, and for the one in ten sufferers of endometriosis, the figure was revealed to be much higher. 20 percent of those surveyed in the UK who live with endometriosis are losing up to 60 days a year and those in Ireland are missing out on even more at up to 84 days each year. 

Making sacrifices

The data revealed just how much people are having to sacrifice because of their menstrual health. Many in the UK had cancelled a date (35 per cent), skipped out on work drinks (34 per cent) or cancelled a weekend away (28 per cent) because of their period. 

Alongside social plans, worrying numbers of people are missing out on education and work because of their period, the data was particularly concerning in Ireland where 59 per cent confirmed they had been unable to attend classes due to menstrual health symptoms and 52 per cent had been forced to call in sick to work.  

Whilst the figures were concerning, they sadly weren’t all that surprising. We have spoken to so many people who live with debilitating menstrual health symptoms and plenty of others who have milder symptoms but ones that still impact their daily lives. 

“It’s a scenario I’m all too familiar with” states Joii founder Justyna Strzeszynska.

"As someone who suffered heavy and painful periods most of their adult life, I can really sympathise with the suffering that many experience each month. I too have cancelled social events and stayed home from work because of immense period pain. I’ve had to apologise to friend’s partners for staining furniture, excuse myself numerous times to use the toilet and wash my sheets on an almost daily basis.

One of the reasons I started Joii was because I realised through my own experiences that advancement in the menstrual health industry was desperately needed. Everyone who menstruates deserves better; to have access to tools that help them understand their own body better, more open conversations about menstruation, access to high performance products that match their flow and for more brands and organisations to be pushing for more research and understanding of menstrual health. We want to be part of this change"

Causes of menstrual symptoms unknown

In many cases, the real cause for debilitating periods was unknown. The UK research also showed how little we know about the symptoms of various menstrual health conditions, highlighting the lack of education offered in schools and understanding in society in general. Nearly a third of those surveyed stated they did not know the symptoms of endometriosis, 35% couldn’t pinpoint the symptoms of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), whilst 34% didn’t know what to look out for with fibroids. 

Alongside the symptoms impacting the daily lives of those surveyed, heavy and painful periods also created additional worry amongst sufferers. 44 per cent of Irish respondents cited leaking as a reason for cancelling plans, with 41 per cent admitting to feeling self-conscious in their clothes and 29 per cent deliberately opting for dark or baggy clothing. 

"I too have cancelled social events and stayed home from work because of immense period pain. I’ve had to apologise to friend’s partners for staining furniture, excuse myself numerous times to use the toilet and wash my sheets on an almost daily basis."

Suffering in silence

Despite the monthly suffering of women and those who menstruate, and the knock-on-effect on their overall social lives and productivity, many have never sought medical advice with 40 per cent of those surveyed in the UK admitting they wouldn’t know when they needed to visit a doctor about their period.  

"What’s shocking is just how many of us are suffering in silence and accepting this as the norm, the monthly Period Day Gap is for many an accepted part of life, but it shouldn’t have to be. More research and better menstrual health education is needed to help drive understanding of conditions like endometriosis. Taboos need to be broken in schools and workplaces to drive important conversations around menstrual health. Everyone who menstruates needs to feel they can take control and understand their body better."

Justyna Strzeszynska, CEO Founder of Joii

The Joii app, launching later this year, will offer a comprehensive symptom tracking tool for those living with endometriosis, and will give them new insight into their flow to enable them to understand their body better.  The app will also offer period tracking for anyone looking to gain more information about their cycle and will evolve to cover more menstrual health conditions. The app will be available on iOS and Android.  

"Everyone who menstruates needs to feel they can take control and understand their body better."

*Research conducted by Censuswide in February 2023 on 1,000 women in the UK and 500 women in ROI.  

Written by: Joii Team

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Joii Limited Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes what Personal Data we collect, how we handle it, why we need it and who we share it with. We may also supplement this Privacy Policy with Data Protection Notices where appropriate.

Who are we?

We are Joii Limited (referred to as ‘Joii’), a limited company incorporated in Ireland and registered under company number 650096. Our registered office is Apartment 15, Thomastown House, Spencer Dock, Dublin, Ireland.

Data Protection Definitions

We use certain expressions throughout this document such as Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data.

Personal Data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

Special Categories of Personal Data includes information revealing a person's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

Data Controller means the entity which, by itself or jointly with others, determines the purpose and means of processing Personal Data. Joii the Data Controller in respect of Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data covered by this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy sets out the basis on which any Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data we collect from you, or that you (or others) provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our practices regarding your Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data and how we will treat it.

When you become our customer, the processing of your Personal Data and, in accordance with legal requirements, Special Categories of Personal Data, will become a condition of the contract between us as we require certain information in order to be able to provide you with our products. In those circumstances, if you do not wish us to process your Personal Data and, in accordance with legal requirements, Special Categories of Personal Data, we may be unable to provide our services to you.

If you have any queries on data protection, Justyna Strzeszynska, may be contacted at: justyna@joiicare.com or you can contact on 01 458 6597.

What personal data do we collect from you?

Advertising

Personal Data: Cookies; Usage Data; various types of Data

Google Analytics

Personal Data: Tracker; Usage Data

Contacting the User

  • Contact form - Personal Data: email address; first name; last name
  • Mailing list or newsletter - Personal Data: first name; last name; email address

Data transfer outside the EU

Data transfer abroad based on consent

Personal Data: various types of Data

Hosting and backend infrastructure

Google Cloud Storage and Google App Engine

Personal Data: various types of Data as specified in the privacy policy of the service

Google Tag Manager

Personal Data: Usage Data

User database management

Personal Data: city; email address; various types of Data

How long do we keep hold of your personal data and special categories of personal data?

The time periods for which we retain your Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data depends on the type of information and the purposes for which we use it. We will keep your information for no longer than is required or permitted.

All Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data will be retained for the duration of the periods set out in our Data Retention Policy. These periods of time are subject to legal, tax and regulatory requirements or to enable us to manage our business.

If you would like further information, please contact us at the details provided below.

In some circumstances we may anonymise your Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use such information without further notice to you. This anonymised data may be used for research or analytical purposes.

What are your rights with respect to your personal data and special categories of personal data?

You have the following rights:

  • To access the Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data we hold about you.
  • To require us to rectify any inaccurate Personal Data or Special Categories of Personal Data relating to you without undue delay.
  • To have us erase any Personal Data or Special Categories of Personal Data we hold about you in specific circumstances, e.g. where it is no longer necessary for us to hold the Personal Data or Special Categories of Personal Data for the administration of your contract or if you have withdrawn your consent to the processing.
  • To object to us processing your Personal Data or Special Categories of Personal Data in specific circumstances, e.g. processing for profiling or direct marketing.
  • To ask us to provide your Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data to you in a portable format or, where technically feasible, for us to port that information to another provider provided it does not result in a disclosure of information relating to other people.
  • To request a restriction of the processing of your Personal Data or Special Categories of Personal Data.
  • In the limited circumstances where you may have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your Personal Data or Special Categories of Personal Data for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time. Once we have received notification that you have withdrawn your consent, we will no longer process your information for the purpose or purposes you originally agreed to, unless we have another legitimate basis for doing so in law. In that instance, any processing that we have carried out before you withdrew your consent remains lawful.

You may exercise any of the above rights by writing to us at our registered office : Justyna Strzeszynska Joii Limited T\A Joii, Apartment 15, Thomastown House, Spencer Dock, Dublin D01 P7N2 or by emailing us at justyna@joiicare.com.

In the above circumstances, we may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access the Personal Data or Special Categories of Personal Data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is another appropriate security measure to ensure that Personal Data or Special Categories of Personal Data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.

You may lodge a complaint with respect to our processing of your information directly with the Supervisory Authority, the Office of the Data Protection Commission with an address at Canal House, Station Road, Portarlington, Co. Laois.

Data Security

We have put in place measures to protect the security of your Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data.

Details of these measures are available upon request.

Third parties will only process your Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data on our instructions and where they have agreed to treat the information confidentially and to keep it secure.

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your Personal Data and Special Categories of Personal Data on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality. We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

What will happen if we change our privacy policy?

This Privacy Policy may change from time to time, and any changes will be posted on our Website and will be effective when posted. Please review this Privacy Policy each time you use our Website or our services. The date this Privacy Policy was last updated is shown below.

How can you contact us about data protection?

You can contact us:

By post addressed to: Justyna Strzeszynska Joii Limited T\A Joii, Apartment 15, Thomastown House, Spencer Dock, Dublin D01 P7N2.

By phone: Customer Services team on 01 458 6597

By email: justyna@joiicare.com

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