The fight against chronic diseases in the era of hyperconnection



    Despite centuries of medical development, chronic noncommunicable diseases remain the leading cause of death. Just think: 60% of people in the world die precisely because of chronic diseases (in Europe - 90%). At the same time, 70-80% of budget expenditures for health care in European countries are associated with this category of ailments. Therefore, much attention is paid to finding ways to improve public health. For example, you can encourage people to lead an active lifestyle and collect statistics for disease prevention. The solution to these problems is facilitated by the advent of the era of hyperconnection : first of all, due to the widespread use of mobile applications and wearable gadgets.

    Some statistics


    The main scourge of modern fertility is obesity. Today, 5% of the world's deaths occur annually in the NHC, caused by obesity. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, one third of humanity is obese, and by 2030 the proportion will increase to 41%. In 2012, the costs associated with obesity ($ 2 trillion per year) were almost the same as the costs of combating the effects of smoking ($ 2.1 trillion per year), as well as the costs associated with terrorism and armed conflict ($ 2.1 trillion per year) )

    Social problems that have the most noticeable impact on the global economy: The



    relevance of various social problems for different countries:



    Obesity is the cause of a number of diseases, including heart disease and diabetes. The proportion of people with diabetes varies greatly by region, but the higher the economic growth, the faster the number of patients.

    Systems approach


    As you can see, it is necessary to fight chronic diseases, and you need to approach this systematically:

    • to teach at home and at school
    • conduct educational campaigns
    • control the food industry,
    • label food products according to their effect on a person’s weight,
    • restrict the advertising of certain products,
    • improve urban ecology
    • control serving size
    • subsidize programs to improve public health and produce healthier foods,
    • promote workplace health programs,
    • promote healthy eating, sports and cycling,
    • widely use applications and gadgets to control physical activity and weight.

    In the first place in terms of effectiveness are such changes in the social environment so that the maintenance of physical form is for the most part unconscious among citizens, at the level of behavioral mechanisms, lifestyle. And second in terms of effectiveness is the conscious effort of people who want to stay healthy.



    Effective medical care and national programs aimed at reducing the share of NHCs help reduce overall health care costs, reduce the number of absenteeism due to illness, increase labor productivity and the overall quality of life in the country. For example, according to the American Public Health Association, in the US, every dollar spent on science-based programs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition and prevent smoking, saves $ 5.6 of the healthcare budget over the next 5 years, and $ 6.2 over the next 10 years. . Unfortunately, in many countries the share of the costs of preventing NHCs in the overall health budget is very small:



    Benefits from mobile devices


    No comprehensive approach to solving the problem will be effective enough without the constant collection and analysis of a variety of information about the current state of human health. Data feed channels can be very different. First of all, of course, these are statistics on visits to medical institutions, the results of routine examinations in schools, the number of absenteeism due to illness. But all these data for the most part reflect the consequences of the lifestyle of different groups of people, which can only be judged indirectly. But the data directly describing the degree and nature of the physical activity of citizens, their eating habits and other habits that affect the likelihood of the occurrence of NHCs can only be obtained from the people themselves. And here smartphones can play an irreplaceable role.

    Our life is inextricably linked to the Internet. Smartphones, desktop computers, laptops, smart watches, tablets, wearable electronics - these are all components of our personal network infrastructure. We are constantly online, using some of the listed devices, even just having a smartphone in our pocket. And just mobile phones can become the most important channel for obtaining data on the lifestyle of each person, as well as a means of promoting ideas of a healthy lifestyle.

    How to do it? With the help of mobile applications that encourage people to move more, play sports, reach new set goals. These applications should collect statistics on how many kilometers have been traveled or run by its owner. Ideal when wireless wearable sensors are connected to the smartphone, which monitor the pulse and body temperature.

    The collected data superimposed on the map of environmental monitoring will help to more accurately predict the dynamics of the development of petrochemical plants in the country, as well as gently adjust the way people live in order to increase their longevity and quality of life. Information from millions of copies of mobile applications along with data from healthcare institutions can be analyzed in global national and regional information systems built on the EMC Integrated Patient Record platform, which we recently wrote about .

    It is important to convince people to report that, how much and when they eat, how they sleep, how much water they drink per day. The application should remind its user that he did not move enough today, or drank too little, or chose excessively fatty foods for lunch. In order not to bore the user with boring tips, the application can, for example, calculate a certain health index, which depends on the observance of various conditions and the implementation of certain actions. And a person looking at a decrease in this index is likely to want to improve his health by following simple, understandable and well-known recommendations. But you need to remember them, and lazy people, many of us need someone to guide us, push us, remind us. And such mobile advisors can not only take on this role,

    Of course, many will not want to use such applications on their own initiative, for a variety of subjective reasons. Someone will pass primary enthusiasm, and they will abandon this business. In such cases, corporate health support programs may be used. For example, if an employee uses the application and regularly provides information about his health, if he tries to maintain and improve his performance, then he will receive a discount on medical insurance as a reward, or receive some kind of medical services free of charge, there are many options. This can attract to the "side of health" those who are not just motivated to care about their bodies.

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