Featured image: Doctor holding tablet computer reviews medical records with patient stock photo
Health checks are offered to eligible people once every five years and aim to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease, and some cases of dementia among healthy adults aged 40 – 74 years. The health checks focus on an earlier awareness, assessment, and management of six risk factors: blood pressure, cholesterol, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and body mass index.
With the majority of areas facing a backlog in these checks, Public Health England commissioned ORCHA to produce a report that identifies a series of digital health products which can safely and effectively assist healthcare professionals and patients with the NHS Health Check.
ORCHA noted that the NHS Health Check lends itself to some degree of digitisation, as the main elements of the check focus on data capture and analysis and the support of behavioural change by patients, all of which are common features in digital health tools.
LMA is a media, performing arts and music specialist institution. The Academy takes a student-first approach, encouraging collaboration and support as key elements of the student experience.
LMA launched its partnership with ORCHA in 2019, keen to help students and staff take control of their physical and mental wellbeing. The LMA Health App Library provides instant access to digital support tools which can be used as and when suits the individual, which is very helpful to students with busy schedules.
Then, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and LMA was forced to suspend in-person studies. The highly practical nature of performing arts studies meant that continuing with studies was challenging, and, although LMA switched to remote learning and student services, for many students it was difficult to maintain the level of learning which took place prior.
The Student Services team at LMA have found the apps included in the Library useful not only to students with preexisting mental and physical health diagnoses, but also to students who have developed anxieties during the isolation periods of the last two years.
The Student Services team used the Library and resources from ORCHA throughout lockdown to consistently communicate with students about the safe digital health solutions available to them. The team continues to offer these resources to students, based on which time periods and touchpoints the students are likely to require support for.
Hannah, from the Student Services team at LMA, has found that mental health apps in particular are incredibly helpful resources as the NHS struggles to keep up with the growing mental health challenges and the waiting lists for traditional services continue to grow.
“Waiting lists for NHS counselling and other services were 26 weeks before lockdown, now you’re talking over a year and so, obviously, having these apps to hand to be able to recommend to our students to fill that gap really helps – some students didn’t need to access the support that their doctors were referring them to because they’re tapped into these apps and they implement these exercises daily and use the strategies to help them through difficult times.”
Response to the Library by students and professionals has been very positive. To date, there have been over 2,500 sessions and over 5,000 page views. The most common route to accessing the site is directly, as LMA is very proactive in promoting the Library, particularly during the first “freshers” weeks and exam season. There are also many students accessing the Library via links on the LMA website and via emails sent to them.
In the main, the apps recommended by Pros at LMA are mental health and anxiety support apps. The team have also found healthy living and nutrition apps useful for boosting their students’ overall health. A recent development has been the growing use of apps for diabetic students to access safe information and guidance. LMA has also found a lot of use for apps for eating disorder management and prevention, as, due to the nature of performing arts careers and institutes, some students may be at a higher risk of issues surrounding body image.
The Student Services team, in working with such a diverse group of students, find that by having the additional resource available to them via the ORCHA Library, they can support both the students who are more forthcoming when they are struggling, and those who are not. Through the recommendation functionality included in the ORCHA Pro account, the team can send accredited health apps safely and directly to students, but by also presenting it as a self-help option which students can access at any time, the team can support students without their having to request help.
Since introducing the ORCHA Library, the Student Services team have noticed a decline in students needing face-to-face appointments.
“All students are different and not one size fits all. So some students like to come and talk about their feelings face-to-face, but some students bottle it all up and they like to deal with it themselves. Now, the Library is a service they can tap into absolutely anywhere across the world; we know that we’re covering all bases and that’s reassuring to us. Our students are covered and if they do want that support but don’t want to speak to us, it’s just there, on their phones – basically everyone has a phone in their hands all the time, so they can just have the support they need and we know that everyone’s covered.”
Quote from Hannah
Caitlin, a recent graduate of LMA, found the apps particularly useful, both during lockdown and following it. As a musical theatre student, Caitlin was both doing a very intensive course with a lot of in-person hours and also working a full-time job outside of her studies. Describing herself as someone who struggles with anxiety, and “jumps to conclusions” or “gets in her own head about things when it’s not as bad as it seems”, she found an anxiety management app very helpful for remembering to take time out for herself and complete regular breathing exercises. She found the app particularly helpful during the lockdown periods for privately expressing her feelings, whilst being able to bear in mind that many other people used the app and struggled with similar circumstances.
Although Caitlin felt very much able to rely on the Student Service team’s support, the addition of the apps “changed the whole experience”. Caitlin, in coming towards the end of her studies and straight into a career as lead vocalist for a production company, reflected on times in her studies when she lost motivation, or struggled to manage her stress.
“I felt like I had been out of it for a while. I’d kind of lost a lot of motivation to get back into my studies. And then obviously, I was going back to work and I felt really overwhelmed when I started not being able to attend classes. I was just stressing myself out with everything. So having all this support helped me get back on track and things because I knew it was important and I really wanted to get my degree but also loved my work so I just had to find a healthy balance between the two, but without support from everyone I probably wouldn’t have got back on track the way I am now.”
Quote from Caitlin
Caitlin found that the combined approach worked very well for her, as although she requested support through the Student Services team, it was sometimes a little embarrassing or anxiety-inducing to go through official channels, and so it was beneficial to have access to other support when she didn’t want to feel as though she was bothering anyone.
The Student Services team have found that:
“Students are more forthcoming using apps, rather than looking at a web page or downloading and reading through an application form – it’s very current and it helps that we can recommend it to students.”
Caitlin reiterated this, stating that
“Technology makes life so much easier. As for me, I’ve got no patience to sit and read through things without having it so it’s quick and easy to access and just encourages you to use it more.”
When asked what she would say to other students looking to access digital mental or physical health support, Caitlin said
“I would definitely say get yourself on these apps because they really help. I would just say tap into them because they’re really useful and you don’t realise – I think it was the same with me, I felt this probably won’t help with anything. And then you download it and then you find yourself using it because simple things just change everything.”
Quote from Caitlin
Featured image: ORCHA report on data security in period tracker apps
A research team at ORCHA, the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps, has examined the privacy policies of 25 period tracker apps and revealed significant flaws.
This follows the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion, leaving privacy experts concerned that data from period-tracking apps could be used to penalise anyone seeking to terminate a pregnancy.
Intimate data stored in some of these apps can show details of sexual activity, contraception used, and when the user’s period stops and starts.
Amongst the 25 period tracker apps from 24 app developers it examined, ORCHA discovered only one single app which kept all the sensitive data on the mobile phone or device owned by the user.
The rest shared it with the app developer.
Furthermore 84% of the apps allowed the sharing of personal and sensitive health data beyond the developer’s system, with third parties. At 68%, the majority did so for marketing, 40% for research and 40% for improving developer services of the app itself.
Amongst those sharing data with third parties, only one single app demonstrated best practice by explicitly asking users for permission within the app itself, rather than bundling this into the Terms and Conditions, which very few people read.
ORCHA believes there is an industry-wide issue with where and when users are asked for their permission to share their data. This often comes at the beginning of the app registration process, with new users being asked to tick overall consent to Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy. Having signed away control of their personal data within minutes of downloading a new app, it then becomes hard to regain control. Five of the apps tested offered no email address or telephone number for the app developer, which would have allowed users to request that their data be deleted, although this is a legal requirement.
Tim Andrews, COO of ORCHA, said:
“It would be best practice for an app to have a ‘consent’ page that’s easily accessed from the main menu. Each individual permission could then be ticked or unticked at any time. So, a user wanting to guarantee privacy, could easily change their mind and untick the permission to share with third parties.”
Beyond sharing data with third parties, ORCHA found other data security concerns including:
Fatima Ahmed, Registrar in Obstetrics & Gynaecology and ORCHA’s clinical lead for maternity and women’s health, said:
“Period tracker apps have come into sharp focus for alarming reasons – but they are probably the tip of the iceberg when it comes to data security. And even app developers who promise to stop sharing names and addresses, for example, should be aware that people can be identified by an IP address.”
To find out more details and discover two best practice apps, access the full report here.
Feature image: Shot of a young businesswoman using a smartphone in a modern office stock photo
Today (20 July) the first ever government-led Women’s Health Strategy for England today has been published.
This is a day to celebrate. A recognition, finally, that women have unique needs and that decades of under-funding, coupled with the pandemic, have left women’s health services reeling.
Yes, we desperately need to tackle ‘deep-rooted and systemic issues’: undiagnosed endometriosis, poor uptake of breast screening and lack of support for women who’ve experienced domestic abuse, to name a few. But how?
In short, through innovation.
The proposed leap forward in women’s services means thinking differently. In his June 2022 PLAN FOR DIGITAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE, the then Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, said that digital transformation would be the linchpin upon which reforms should be based.
We agree. There are many health apps, often designed by NHS clinicians and backed with clinical evidence, to help address women’s health issues and improve the efficiency of the NHS.
And recent independent research we commissioned from OnePoll has shown that 59% of women believe digital health can alleviate the burden on the NHS, with 43% already using a health app. Women are increasingly recognising the flexibility and convenience of being supported by digital technology.
But here’s the problem: according to this same research, only 17% of women are being recommended these health apps by a healthcare professional. This leaves the majority of women to find a digital solution from Google searches or the recommendations of friends. We certainly wouldn’t expect anyone to find their own medicines via a Google search.
Added to this concern, ORCHA has assessed more than 200 FemTech apps, testing each against 350 criteria, and discovered that only 20% of these meet thresholds for quality, safety or effectiveness. In particular, our research into the privacy policies of 25 leading period tracker apps leaves us gravely worried.
We call on the FemTech industry to recognise that this is the hour to act, and to raise standards. ORCHA is here to support you.
And doctors, nurses and clinicians: digital health can support your work in a myriad of ways – and much of this great innovation is coming from your colleagues within the NHS. We recognise that this is a period of massive change, so we’ve set up a free and CPD-accredited online Digital Health Academy to support you. The Academy can be accessed here or on the NHS Learning Portal here.