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HEALTH TRENDS


“We’re seeing the rise of the ‘Quantified Self’ – people using smartphone applications to capture details about their health”


wellbeing – whether that’s prevention, monitoring or management. According to Diane Fruge, director


of family health at The Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, US, this is an important move for both consumers and the healthcare industry as a whole:


“Prevention and health education are key to better and healthier living. Knowing how to take care of yourself can eliminate unwanted illness and disease, and could potentially help reduce healthcare costs.” (see Fox Business report: http://lei.sr?a=Z1z5V) The trend is facilitated largely by the


increasing adoption and development of mobile technologies and innovative devices. In the 2013 Mobile App Behaviour Survey – conducted in February by apigee (www.apigee.com) among over 760 smartphone users in the UK, US, Spain, France and Germany – 82 per cent of respondents felt there were critical apps they couldn’t go without for even a day, with email leading the way. Spain topped the chart, with 93 per


cent of those surveyed saying they couldn’t go one day without apps; in the US, 50 per cent of respondents claimed not to be able to last four hours. Meanwhile, in France, 18 per cent said they couldn’t order dinner without an app; 23 per cent of Spaniards felt apps were the only way they could fi nd a date; and 40 per cent of Germans would rather stop drinking coffee than delete all the apps on their phone forever.


With health and wellbeing applications


estimated to make up approximately 40 per cent of new smartphone apps being developed (see The Guardian online article: http://lei.sr?a=K1b6A), self-management of health represents big business. Indeed, when it comes to monitoring existing conditions and diagnosis of potential problems, we’re seeing a huge increase in mobile applications and devices – from monitoring moles to identifying malaria


– that allow people to receive instant information and diagnostics about their current state of health. Meanwhile, as social networking


continues to be a valuable source of personal connection and infl uence – while trust in professionals has wavered – we’re seeing online citizen support networks such as CureTogether grow in popularity. CureTogether is a network of 26,000 members offering curative advice and support for people across hundreds of illnesses (www.curetogether.com).


Data analysis However, the story doesn’t end with short-term solutions. Advancing technology has brought with it a data-driven movement. People are gaining comfort in, and confidence with, data, facts and measurements, and this appears to be particularly true within healthcare and fitness. We’re therefore seeing the rise of


the ‘Quantifi ed Self’ – people using smartphone applications and devices to capture details about their health over time, in order to shape their lives based on enhanced knowledge and insights. Behaviour change is the goal of this movement, as Gina Neff, associate professor of communication at the University of Washington, explains. “Data leads to knowledge, and knowledge leads to action,” she says. A wide variety of self-tracking and


data capture applications and monitoring devices exist across the market, from the Zeo Sleep Manager that measures sleep cycles, through Jawbone and the Nike+ Fuel Band that measure daily movement, to the Withings range of apps that monitor everything from heart rate and activities to weight and calorie intake. However, according to Christiaan


The Nike+ Fuel Band is one of many new activity monitoring devices


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Vorkink, principal at heath technology company True Ventures, adequate analysis of this data remains a challenge:


Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital


Fitness clubs should offer a lifestyle app as part of their membership


“A huge Quantifi ed Self problem is that our ability to measure has outpaced our modes and models for analysis.” Analysis expertise is essential if data is


to be translated into the right course of action for the user, in terms of a tailored healthcare plan. Knowing about yourself is one thing, but knowing what to do with that information is another thing entirely. So what might happen next? In the


future, we will see a greater focus on the importance of data analysis and healthcare integration. We may see the advance of remote healthcare, for example, where doctors monitor patients remotely – analysing data generated by monitoring apps and devices to give tailored treatment advice – thereby saving on GP visits and healthcare resource. Already devices such as Sensimed’s Triggerfi sh system – a wearable, sensor-fi lled contact lens for glaucoma sufferers – are able to wirelessly send data that doctors can monitor, adjusting medication as necessary. As technologies advance, new devices


will emerge that not only monitor health, but that can also administer treatments. Contact lens manufacturers are again leading the way, with a breakthrough drug-dispensing product – which sandwiches medicine between two layers of lens, administering it at constant rates over time – tested as long ago as 2009 (see Scientifi c American article: http://lei. sr?a=f8X7T).


April 2013 © Cybertrek 2013


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