A new €1.6 million cross-border initiative will test whether menopause technologies can help women remain in the workforce, as Denmark and Sweden seek new approaches to supporting an ageing female healthcare workforce.
The three-year Next Phase Femtech project, funded through the EU’s Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak programme, will evaluate three market-ready menopause technologies in real-world healthcare settings across Denmark and Sweden.
The project will see solutions from Hormoner på Arbejde, MeWe&You Health and Minimal App tested among healthcare professionals working in hospitals across Region Zealand and Region Skåne, as well as within Tomelilla Municipality. Researchers hope the pilots will generate evidence on how technology can support women experiencing menopause while continuing to work in demanding clinical roles.
“Women in healthcare are holding up the system while often managing their own menopause symptoms with no support and no data to back them up,” said Jacqueline Nuwame, founder of Minimal App.
“Next Phase Femtech lets us test real tools with the people who need them most, and turn what we learn into meaningful data - the foundation of a body of knowledge on menopause that’s been missing for far too long.”
While menopause has become one of the fastest-growing areas of women’s health innovation in recent years, relatively little evidence exists on how digital health tools perform in workplace settings. The project aims to address that gap by evaluating technologies in environments where women often face physically demanding work, shift patterns and limited opportunities for breaks - factors that can exacerbate symptoms such as sleep disruption, fatigue, hot flashes and cognitive changes.
Outcomes tracked may include symptoms, work ability, perceived support, engagement and acceptability, as well as the workplace’s capacity to provide earlier and more appropriate support.
If successful, the programme could provide valuable data for organisations worldwide about how menopause tech can support workforce participation.
“We know that a high burden of menopause-related symptoms can make working life more difficult,” said Helene Strandkvist, founder and CEO of MeWe&YouHealth.
“What we do not yet understand well enough is what happens at the intersection between symptoms and the conditions in which women work – or which forms of employer support can help protect work ability before problems escalate.
“This project gives us a rare opportunity to test digital support in real workplaces and contribute data to that missing evidence base.”
Commercial support for up to 30 more companies
Beyond the workplace pilots, Next Phase Femtech will also support the commercial development of up to 30 women’s health companies. Through workshops, advisory support and collaboration with healthcare providers and innovation organisations, the programme aims to help founders refine products that better meet women’s needs while improving their readiness for adoption within healthcare systems.
The initiative is being led by the Research Unit in the Staff at Zealand University Hospital and brings together partners from across Denmark and Sweden, including Region Zealand, Region Skåne, Daya Ventures, Hormoner på Arbejde, MeWe&You Health, Minimal App, Halmstad University and Tomelilla Municipality.
The project runs until June 2029.
Three years is a long enough runway to actually see whether retention moves, which most femtech pilots don't get. The Danish and Swedish hospital sites will also make for a cleaner comparison later, given how differently those two systems already structure shift work for nurses.