Dottie: Your Period Bestie

Mission

To empower adolescent girls with knowledge about their menstrual health through accessible, friendly AI-powered guidance.

Vision

A world where young people understand their bodies, recognize menstrual health as a vital sign, and feel confident seeking care when needed.

What is Dottie?

Dottie is an AI-powered symptom checker designed specifically for adolescent girls and their caregivers to distinguish between normal and abnormal menstruation patterns, delivered through a friendly, approachable digital mascot.

UI Screenshots

Light Mode

Landing Page

Authentication

Login Screen

Signup Screen

Assessment

Question Flow

Results Page

AI Chat

Chat with Dottie

User (Profile Page)

Profile Overview

Settings

Dark Mode

Landing Page

Authentication

Login Screen

Signup Screen

Assessment

Question Flow

Results Page

AI Chat

Chat with Dottie

User (Profile Page)

Profile Overview

Settings

Problem Statement

The Challenge: Adolescent menstrual health faces three critical barriers:

1. Knowledge Gap: Many adolescents and caregivers lack clear understanding of what constitutes normal vs. abnormal menstruation.
2. Communication Barrier: Stigma and embarrassment prevent open discussions about menstrual concerns between adolescents, caregivers, and healthcare providers.
3. Delayed Care: Without understanding normal parameters, abnormal symptoms often go unreported, leading to delayed diagnosis of underlying conditions like PCOS, endometriosis, or thyroid disorders.

Key Statistics:

• Up to 38% of adolescent girls experience menstrual disorders
• The average delay in diagnosis for endometriosis is 7-10 years, often beginning in adolescence
• 75% of young women report receiving inadequate education about menstrual health
• Only 14% of adolescents consult healthcare providers about menstrual concerns

This problem disproportionately affects underserved communities with limited access to specialized healthcare and comprehensive sexual health education.

Solution: Meet Dottie

Dottie is a conversational AI assistant designed as a friendly, knowledgeable "Period Bestie" for adolescents navigating menstrual health.

Core Features:

• Symptom Assessment: Evaluates menstrual patterns against age-appropriate clinical guidelines.
• Personalized Education: Provides developmentally appropriate explanations based on user's age and knowledge level.
• Decision Support: Helps determine when to seek medical attention vs. when patterns are within normal range.
• Conversation Starters: Provides scripts to help teens discuss concerns with parents and healthcare providers.

Unique Approach:

• Character-Based Interface: Dottie's friendly mascot design reduces stigma and anxiety.
• Medically Accurate: Built on ACOG guidelines and reviewed by adolescent gynecologists.
• Privacy-Centered: Age-appropriate design with strong data protection and privacy controls.
• Accessible Language: Uses clear, non-clinical language with optional educational deep-dives.
• Culturally Responsive: Content addresses diverse cultural contexts and beliefs around menstruation.

How Dottie Works

User Journey:

1. Onboarding: Brief questionnaire establishes baseline information about age, menstrual history, and concerns.
2. Assessment: When users report concerns or unusual symptoms, Dottie guides them through a conversational assessment using clinically-validated questions.
3. Personalized Guidance:
   • Green: Reassurance when patterns are within normal range.
   • Red: Clear guidance to seek healthcare when patterns suggest potential issues.
4. Educational Content: Contextual information about menstrual health delivered through engaging, age-appropriate explanations.
5. Healthcare Connection: When needed, helps prepare for healthcare visits with symptom summaries and questions to ask.

User Experience:

The interface balances friendly engagement with medical credibility, using accessible language while maintaining scientific accuracy.

Datasets & Knowledge Base

Medical Foundation:

• ACOG Committee Opinion No. 651 (2015): Core guidelines on normal menstrual parameters.
• Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine clinical recommendations.

Development

Project Structure

• backend: Express.js API server with API endpoints
• frontend: (Coming soon) User interface for the Dottie application

Architecture

Database

Dottie uses a dual-database approach to simplify development while maintaining production readiness:

• Development: SQLite for local development (no setup required)
• Production: Azure SQL Database for scalable cloud deployment
• ORM: Knex.js provides a unified query interface across both database types

This architecture allows developers to work locally without needing to set up a database server, while ensuring a smooth transition to production with Azure SQL.

Backend

• API Server: Express.js handles HTTP requests and routing
• Data Models: Knex.js models for database interaction
• Authentication: (Coming soon) JWT-based authentication
• Middleware: Express middleware for request processing

Backend Port Configuration & macOS Compatibility

By default, the backend runs on:

• Port 5000 on Windows/Linux
• Port 5001 on macOS (to avoid conflict with AirPlay)

You can override this by creating a .env file in /backend:

PORT=5050

Getting Started

Backend Setup

1. Navigate to the backend directory and install dependencies, return to root:

   cd backend; npm install; cd ..
   

2. Navigated to the frontend directory and build dependencies:

   cd frontend; npm install; npm run build
   

3. Run frontend (activates backend by itself with concurrently)

   npm run dev
   

Technologies Used

• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: SQLite (dev), Azure SQL (production)
• ORM: Knex.js for database queries
• Testing: Vitest, Supertest
• Documentation: Docusaurus (see /docs directory)

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🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions to the Dottie project!

🪜 How to Start:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a new branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature
3. Make your changes
4. Commit: git commit -m "Add: your feature"
5. Push: git push origin feature/your-feature
6. Open a Pull Request 🚀

Please read our contributing guidelines before submitting PRs.

If you're new, check out good first issue to get started.

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License

Apache License