Seattle-area firm One Merchandise is working with the College of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to assist a examine of a rural neighborhood in Arkansas prone to poor coronary heart well being.
The UAMS Coronary heart Wholesome Communities initiative goals to cut back well being final result inequality in rural Arkansas by means of learning a goal inhabitants with traditionally poor well being outcomes. The app is utilized in mixture with different efforts, corresponding to linking individuals with social companies and medical suppliers.
Based in 2016, One Merchandise has been working with UAMS for about two years and not too long ago introduced that the examine has expanded to enroll extra individuals, aiming for greater than 200 topics.
The startup’s Well being Science Index app is a cornerstone of the examine, mentioned principal investigator Irion Pursell, director of heart problems main prevention at UAMS. The app helps individuals prioritize areas for enchancment of their well being and life-style.
“Enhancing high quality and period of life begins with a shopper’s willingness to incorporate wellness-seeking behaviors of their day by day routine,” Pursell informed Startup. “The app facilitates wellness by prioritizing particular areas for motion and offering content material on specific actions a shopper can embody of their day by day routine.”
The app identifies key focus areas by means of a survey that asks questions on train, sleep, water consumption, diet and different components. One Merchandise gives day by day reminders about focus areas, permits connections with mates on the app, and hyperlinks to academic supplies. The app additionally scores customers on their progress and gives a dashboard to assist them monitor it.
The app may even be used to assist determine individuals prone to untimely loss of life within the examine inhabitants.
The examine is funded by the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management, which has proven curiosity in probably increasing the usage of the app to different counties if the UAMS initiative reveals a profit, mentioned Pursell.
One Merchandise is led by CEO and co-founder Erik Knutsen, who was beforehand CEO of Bellevue, Wash.-based enterprise consulting companies firm Design Laboratory, and is a former senior challenge supervisor at Microsoft. The corporate’s co-founder and CTO is Brian Williams, former CEO of California Imaginative and prescient who relies in San Diego.
The corporate additionally provides a consumer-facing model of the app, referred to as “Higher Now” which can be utilized to assist individuals determine and enhance key focus areas in numerous aspects of life, corresponding to health and wellness, wellbeing and happiness, and relationships.