Featured image: Group of mixed age and ethnicity teenage friends on a walk in Beadnell, North East England. They are standing in a field looking at each others phones, talking together.
ORCHA has selected five mental health apps which could help anxious teenagers as they wait for their A Level and GCSE results (due on 18 August and 25 August).
The apps are:
They allow young people to communicate with their peers anonymously, learn techniques to cope with anxiety and increase their resilience – and all in a safe environment.
Clinical psychologist Dr Humphreys, managing director of ORCHA, commented that Generation Z have grown up with tech and it’s like a natural language for them.
Dr Humphreys added:
“Teens who socialise online will find it entirely normal to also seek support in a virtual environment. In this ever present, always on world, you can use a health app and engage as much as you feel able, and at any time you like. There is good evidence of their effectiveness – and combining technology with others forms of support can provide a well-rounded way of meeting teenagers within their comfort zones, breaking down many barriers.”
Matt Pearson, 18, who studied at Derby College and is waiting for his A Level results next week, said:
“Oftentimes, talking to your parents about exam results seems circular. Because you’re trying to relieve stress by talking directly to a major component of the stress. What I would say, and what many others my age would as well, is that looking online can give you a better solution. Whether that is talking to your friends over social media, strangers on random forums or talking to a chatbot or playing a game.
“Talking to your parents is high consequence. Whereas talking to a random person is low consequence. They aren’t going to judge you and it won’t impact anything. It is just a method of expressing your emotions. Health apps allow you to do that in a safe manner.”
Independent research commissioned by ORCHA* found that:
ORCHA recommends that families select health apps carefully, as 80% still fail to pass its quality assurance process – many have insufficient clinical backing or are lax on data privacy. Apps which are NHS accredited or which appear on an ORCHA app library have been rigorously vetted and are safe to use.
FOR GETTING REASSURANCE FROM PEERS – TELLMI
Tellmi was selected for this ORCHA list by a group of teen boys, who felt their peers would benefit from it. It allows users to share their struggles and receive advice from other users. The app has a social media-like layout which teenagers will be very familiar with, making it more appealing and engaging. Tellmi has an age band feature that connects app users to others of a similar age.
Platforms: Apple iOS, Google, Android
Cost: Free
ORCHA score: 81%
FOR ANONYMOUS CHAT – WYSA
Wysa was also selected by ORCHA’s teen panel. It’s an AI chatbot which allows users to express their feelings confidently and anonymously. Using short CBT activities, it helps users to cultivate confidence, reduce anxiety and improve general wellbeing.
Platforms: Apple iOS and Android
Cost: The app is free to download and use on a limited basis. There are then in-app purchases.
ORCHA score: 85%
FOR HANDLING LIFE’S UPS AND DOWNS – WOEBOT
Woebot can help you think through situations step by step, using proven therapeutic methods. It’s used by millions of people every week to cope with anxiety, depression, loneliness and much more. It checks in with you, helping with insights and skills development.
Platforms: Apple iOS and Android
Cost: The app is entirely free.
ORCHA score: 84%
FOR GETTING BETTER SLEEP – SMILING MIND
This free mindfulness meditation app has programmes for youths (13-18) and adults (19+). It’s designed to look after your mind, helping with the pressure, stress and challenges. Learn how to relax and cope – and sleep better.
Platforms: Apple iOS and Android
Cost: The app is entirely free
ORCHA score: 77%
FOR EASY LISTENING – FEELING GOOD
Feeling Good is accredited by NHS digital. It provides mental health focussed audio tracks to help you build essential skills, bounce forward and become more resilient: a great option for teens who love podcasts. There are programmes for both teens and adults.
Platforms: Apple iOS and Android
Cost: There are several free tracks, then the whole app can be unlocked with a referral code or one-time payment.
ORCHA score: 90%
*OnePoll survey of 2000 consumers, May 2022
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.
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.