There has been a lot of innovation in recent years in the use of mobile technologies in health care, but often it’s the techie types that get very excited while ordinary people (patients and health care workers alike) remain on the sidelines—confused or even feeling alienated by the intervention of technology. This was recognized at a recent Stanford conference, Mobile Health 2011, where the focus turned away from "gee-whiz demos" to looking at the experience of the end user. Words like "emotion" and "compassion" were common currency.
One field in which these types of insights are occurring is "behavior modification," a process of reducing bad behaviors or increasing good behaviors by making small interventions into a patient's life. Mobile phones are particularly useful in delivering messages to patients reminding them of their behavior change goals. Text messages can be sent automatically to patients to remind them to engage in a good health habit (taking a scheduled birth control pill) or refrain from an unhealthy habit (abusing a drug).
Empathy with patients can improve the success of these types of programs. Fred Muench of Mobile Health Interventions, which provides health-related SMS reminders, mentioned during his panel that reminders could be more effective if the patient herself writes the text of the message for later use. Health blog Text in the City noted that this behavior modification method also "gets around issues of confidentiality and concerns about parents/family seeing messages on patient cell phones," particularly when the message is about a stigmatized issue like sexuality or substance abuse. Thinking about the patient experience also influenced the creation of "Carmen" a virtual friend presented by Abby King of Stanford University that counsels elderly Latino women to get more physical exercise.
There were also panels on the business side of mobile health, such as "What Really Works in the Business of Mobile Health" and "What Really Works in Changing Behavior: Commercial Impact," but patients were clearly the central focus. Jeremy Vanderlan of AIDS.gov distilled the spirit of empathy in a blog post:
The elderly and the poor are the demographics that would benefit most from mobile health. They are also the most likely to experience fear or embarrassment at their lack of technological savvy. We, the technophiles, embrace technology. We wield it, it is our friend. The barrier of fear that exists for the elderly and the poor must be overcome if mobile health is to be implemented effectively for everyone, for it to realize the enormous promise and potential that mobile health represents.
Viewed from a human rather than technical perspective, it's easy to see how sometimes the source of a health innovation may not be an improvement in technology, but an improvement in empathy, in which health technologists find a better way to understand the patient.
AARP FOUNDATION GRANTS PROGRAM LAUNCHES WITH $2 MILLION IN FUNDING TO HELP VULNERABLE OLDER AMERICANS MEET EVERYDAY NEEDS THIS YEAR, RFPS WILL BE ISSUED FOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT FOCUS ON HUNGER AND RECESSION RECOVERY FOR ADULTS 50 AND OLDER; HUNGER GRANT RFP AVAILABLE NOW.
States News Service August 17, 2011 WASHINGTON, DC -- The following information was released by AARP:
AARP Foundation today announced a new grant making program that supports the organization's commitment to changing the lives of vulnerable older Americans by meeting their everyday needs - food, housing, income and personal connections.
The AARP Foundation Grants Program will fund a diverse range of promising projects that help create long-term, sustainable solutions to the problems faced by low-income adults age 50 and older. These projects may range from basic education to interventions spearheaded by organizations that address the social and behavioral aspects of these problems for older Americans.
"Hunger, housing, income and personal connections are basic needs that, particularly in these tough economic times, are often difficult for vulnerable older Americans to meet," said AARP Foundation President Jo Ann Jenkins. "This grant program will help build our knowledge base, conquer these solvable issues and ultimately help older people who are struggling live with hope, dignity and security." The program focuses on four impact areas: hunger, housing, income and personal connections. In 2011, AARP Foundation will award approximately $2 million in multiple grants in two areas: hunger and income.
"The current economic uncertainty has left many older Americans concerned about making ends meet," said Phyllis L. Kim, AARP Foundation senior vice president, Office of Grants Administration. "AARP Foundation is already in communities across the country helping vulnerable Americans with direct services, but we believe strongly that we must also invest in long-term solutions. We look forward to working with innovative grantees who share our goals so that together, we can seed hope for older Americans who are struggling." $1 Million: Hunger Innovation Grants Program Nearly six million older Americans face the threat of hunger every day. AARP Foundation believes this is a solvable problem. To eligible organizations that focus on sustainable solutions that make a significant impact on community food security and sustainable food systems for those 50 and older, AARP Foundation will award hunger grants in amounts ranging from $50,000 to $300,000-depending on the scope and scale of the project-through a competitive RFP process that closes on Oct. 15, 2011. Awardees will be announced in December 2011. web site foundation grants
The deadline for submission of a mandatory letter of inquiry is September 15, 2011. The Hunger Innovation Grants Program RFP is available at www.aarp.org/hungergrants.
$1 Million: Recession Recovery Grants Initiative Every day, nearly 20 million low-income older individuals struggle to secure their most basic needs in life-such as food or shelter-with limited or no financial resources. The Foundation is working to reverse the downward spiral that many older Americans and their families face.
Later this month, AARP Foundation will release an RFP focused on low-income, working families over 50. Eligible organizations will identify and implement unique models for providing a continuum of services to help protect families from severe financial instability. Support services might include an upgrade in employment skills or increasing access to benefits that help obtain employment and increase financial stability. AARP Foundation will award grants through a competitive process. Grants will be between $50,000 and $200,000 each and will be administered over one to two years, depending on the project. site foundation grants
The RFP will be available at www.aarp.org/foundationgrants later this month. Awardees will be announced in December 2011.
For more information about the AARP Foundation Grants Program, visit www.aarp.org/foundationgrants.
AARP Foundation is AARP's affiliated charity. The Foundation is dedicated to serving vulnerable people 50 and older by creating solutions that help them secure the essentials and achieve their best life. AARP Foundation focuses on: hunger, housing, income and isolation as key mission areas. The Foundation envisions: "a country free of poverty where no older person feels vulnerable.' Foundation programs are funded by grants, tax-deductible contributions and AARP. For more information about AARP Foundation, please log on to www.aarp.org/foundation.
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Bravo!!!!
This article beautifully articulates what I see as a major "gap" in Healthcare and Medicine.
I think that as Physicians & Healthcare providers we have a moral & ethical imperative to focus on this human component of our ever-changing technology. I applaud the work presented in this article and look forward to reading more and getting involved through these venues. My own specialty of Radiology certainly offers many opportunities to connect with "emotion and compassion".
Sincerely,
Connie A. Innis, M.D.
Seattle, WA U.S.A.
Emotion and compassion are justifiably attractive attributes for care delivery, but having worked with behavior modification for years I would state unequivocally that is not the way to produce such a qualitative change in health services. In a word, reinforcements are fine, but behavior modification soon becomes an end in itself dominated by "control freaks" who manipulate methods to artificially create the appearances of conditioned care responses. Ultimately patients sense the thin wall of methodology and repel and rebel against being treated by a methodology. If you want compassion in Health care, revamp the system of market reduction and place a premium on interpreting the patients needs and fears. Stop the phoney regression back to behavior modification...its been abused for close to a century and it is typically embraced by the mechanics of a business administration who see everything and everybody in their path as obstacles to manage and control.
Thanks for your brave and important counter to the ubiquitous assertion that technology provides the answer to whatever ails us. Sometimes we benefit most from interaction with a real,live, kind, and respectful human being more than interaction with a new app or a new pill. Your post provides a vital reminder.