“My Health App”

Social innovation in the service of health.

Promoting access to information and services

“Many people with disabilities (PWD) have under-diagnosed health problems”. This is the premise of the “My Health App” project team, which explains this situation by “personal factors (genetic predisposition or co-morbidities, difficulty in understanding and expressing pain) and environmental factors (reduced accessibility to prevention campaigns and care, non-recognition of pain and suffering by those around them)”.
 
Through its research project, the team proposes to develop a digital application to facilitate access to health promotion and prevention for people with disabilities.

Self-determination and social participation

If the project aims to “facilitate the self-determination and autonomy of people with disabilities in the field of health promotion and prevention”, these elements are already at the heart of the project, right from the constitution of the research team.
 
Indeed, the co-construction of projects with the people concerned is an essential criteria for obtaining support from the Innovation Booster Technology and Special Needs. This was ensured by “the integration in the research team of a person with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)”, confirms the team.
 
Also, in the framework of this research, future users, both PWD living in institutions and the professionals who support them, have exchanged on the project’s subjects, as well as tested the functionality of health-related websites.
A person uses a smart phone

Acceptability of content and support

Through the process proposed by the Innovation Booster Technology and Special Needs, in particular the training days, the “My Health App” project team was made aware of the principles of acceptability, viability and feasibility. The team integrated these principles into their research and concluded as follows:
 
“If the social acceptability of the content could be recognised, the social acceptability of the chosen medium (smartphone, tablet or computer) and, consequently, its viability could be questioned and the medium rethought”. From the digital application, the team reoriented its project towards an interactive book. This reorientation of the project also allows “to solve many of the ethical obstacles posed by the application.
 

 Continuation of the project and prospects

The project team now has new perspectives. Several publications resulting from this research have enabled the team to make its work more visible. Similarly, partnerships have been strengthened. They will give rise to several events related to health promotion and prevention for people with disabilities in 2022.
 
The project team also obtained a new cheque from the Innovation Booster Technology and Special Needs, in order to develop an interactive book prototype.
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