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Health Watch
Improve health management by monitoring dietary intake and enhancing nutritional awareness
How can we make managing health as an aging adult more accessible?
By Ashley Yarberry ︎, Paresh Hemnani ︎, Zehan Ge ︎,
Smile to Unlock Homescreen
Hypothesis
Managing your health as an aging adult is as easy as accessible resources no more than an arm’s length away.
Managing your health as an aging adult is as easy as accessible resources no more than an arm’s length away.
Why
Seniors often struggle to juggle and maintain the many aspects of declining health and struggle to sort out all the medical, emotional, and physical categories that are involved in taking care of themselves. “Simple” health issues can later cause affect in other areas in their health creating a downward spiral event.
How
By developing an app that connects all aspects of health and health care, the aging population can balance and effectively manage their personal health and the various overlaps.
What
Food, nutrition facts, exercise, doctors appointments, transportation, aids, availability of resources, etc.
So What
Seniors can create new and better habits surrounding their health and their relation with technology, which may spark a better environment for them to spend more time with family and less time stressing over appointments and health planning.
Seniors often struggle to juggle and maintain the many aspects of declining health and struggle to sort out all the medical, emotional, and physical categories that are involved in taking care of themselves. “Simple” health issues can later cause affect in other areas in their health creating a downward spiral event.
How
By developing an app that connects all aspects of health and health care, the aging population can balance and effectively manage their personal health and the various overlaps.
What
Food, nutrition facts, exercise, doctors appointments, transportation, aids, availability of resources, etc.
So What
Seniors can create new and better habits surrounding their health and their relation with technology, which may spark a better environment for them to spend more time with family and less time stressing over appointments and health planning.
Screenshots from app interface
The Link Between Design and Outcomes
The design of a well organized app will suggest an increased participation in better health of our aging population as they actively get involved in the interconnections of various conditions of their personal health through the overlapping professions participating in providing care: physically, emotionally, and mentally.
The app will begin with a MVP, or minimum viable product, format that prioritizes nutrition factors and medication management within the app. This could look like a more independent approach of food plans, recipe recommendations, and daily physical and mental stimulation. Or perhaps a co-habituating health plan between primary health care professional, eye care, pharmacist, and nutritionist as needed. The app would also provide recommendations for community activities and involvement for cognitive health concerns and community needs.
The overall agenda of the technology being the access to trustworthy and critical information for the aging population in one convenient place to ensure the crossing of information is organized and communicated with all parties involved.
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Works Cited
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Byambasuren, Oyungerel, et al. “Current Knowledge and Adoption of Mobile Health Apps among Australian General Practitioners: Survey Study.” JMIR MHealth and UHealth, vol. 7, no. 6, June 2019, p. e13199, https://doi.org/10.2196/13199.
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Ghose, Anindya. “Do Health Apps Really Make Us Healthier?” Harvard Business Review, 15 Nov. 2021, hbr.org/2021/05/do-health-apps-really-make-us-healthier.
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Holman, Tayla. “The Pros and Cons of Mobile Health Apps.” Dignity Health, 3 Feb. 2016, www.dignityhealth.org/articles/the-pros-and-cons-of-mobile-health-apps.
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Mano, Rita. “Do Health Apps Really Make Us Healthier?” Harvard Business Review, 15 Nov. 2021, hbr.org/2021/05/do-health-apps-really-make-us-healthier.
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Pahlevanynejad, Shahrbanoo, et al. ``Personalized Mobile Health for Elderly Home Care: A Systematic Review of Benefits and Challenges.” International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications, edited by Manolis Tsiknakis, vol. 2023, Jan. 2023, pp. 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/5390712.