Men increasingly turn to digital sources when seeking healthcare information, particularly in fertility care. Ensuring they can easily access and understand relevant information is crucial. This paper investigates whether existing mobile apps are appropriately designed to support men’s experiences in the context of fertility care. We present findings from two studies. 1) an interview study (n=28) and 2) an evaluation of existing mobile apps (n=21) for fertility support. We found that men want to make sense of and find meaning in information and their feelings during their fertility journeys. Whilst many apps contain valuable information to support sense-making, they do not support meaning-making, which tends to occur within a community of peers, a feature notably absent in existing apps. We contribute design recommendations for designers to consider how health apps can meet the information needs of men who experience infertility. This research extends existing literature by exploring the nuanced role of meaning-making in male fertility experiences. We offer a deeper understanding of men’s emotional and informational requirements, providing a critical empirical foundation for developing inclusive and effective digital tools.
Patel et al. (Sat,) studied this question.
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