A huge amount of online health advice is aimed at women. Now there is a safe and convenient way to cut through the misinformation
Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) recently launched a health app, CONNECTPlus, after engagement with local communities identified “a strong desire” among women for a specific platform where they can find trusted information and advice.
The ICB asked 1,200 people across Suffolk and North East Essex about their experiences of health services, with a particular focus on women’s health. They found that women wanted an accurate and easily accessible source of information.
Lizzie Mapplebeck, associate director of strategic change at the ICB, told BBC News, Suffolk, that women were sometimes overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information available online.
“What we heard was a real strong desire to have trusted information and trusted education, and self-help advice on women’s health which is available day or night. We are aware there is a lot of misinformation out there.”
Mapplebeck added that by launching the app, the ICB was “promoting health inclusivity and advancing health equality in relation to women’s health”.
CONNECTPlus covers aspects of women’s health including cervical screening, menstrual problems, endometriosis, pelvic organ prolapse, and contraception. The app can also be used for a wide number of specific health conditions, in addition to those that fall under the women’s health banner.
The app is provided by HCI Digital, a digital health company focused on enabling health systems to adopt new and sustainable approaches to delivering health and care for patients.
CONNECTPlus covers eight aspects of women’s health including cervical screening, menstrual problems, endometriosis, pelvic organ prolapse, and contraception. The app can also be used for any conditions or treatment pathways, in addition to those that fall under the women’s health banner.
CONNECTPlus is provided by HCI, a digital health company focused on enabling health systems to adopt new and sustainable approaches to delivering health and care for patients which they do by uniquely providing patients with:
- The information and education they need to better self-manage their conditions and treatment pathways at home, and
- The ability to collect data on their symptoms and treatments so that health systems can support them remotely as much as possible, and
- Digital pathways of care that guide and support them through their treatment programmes.
It is a system in use across the NHS for multiple conditions and treatments and is customised to the needs of each local service to provide the information, guidance and monitoring that is necessary to reduce demand and enable care closer to home.
Find out more by joining the upcoming Women’s Health Hub virtual event on Thursday 24th October 12.30pm.
