The document proposes the creation of an app called Isupport that would allow people around the world to connect through online support groups for various health conditions. Face-to-face interviews found that while most people know what support groups are, access is limited. Respondents expressed strong interest in an app that allows anonymous participation in global support communities. Isupport aims to address the growing needs of chronic disease patients by connecting them to peers and clinicians anytime, anywhere.

1. Support Groups on Apps:
Help at the reach of our thumbs
Stanford University
Mobile Health Without Borders
Willian Muñoz M.D.
Physician Assistant
Asthma Allergy Center
dr.wmunoz@gmail.com

2. The problem:
The day they become “patients”..

3. Overview
The number of patients coping with chronic conditions seems to be growing because of improvements in treatments
and increases in survival times, particularly for conditions such as HIV infection and some malignancies.
“Chronic diseases - such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes - are the leading causes of death and disability in
the United States. These diseases account for seven of every 10 deaths and affect the quality of life of 90 million
Americans.”
Department of Health
Information for a Healthy New York
“Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, are by far the
leading cause of mortality in the world, representing 60% of all deaths. Out of the 35 million people who died from
chronic disease in 2005, half were under 70 and half were women.This invisible epidemic is an under-appreciated
cause of poverty and hinders the economic development of many countries. Contrary to common perception, 80%
of chronic disease deaths occur in low and middle income countries.”
World Health Organization

4. Meanwhile...
“The worldwide mobile phone market is forecast to grow 7.3% year over year in 2013, marking a
sharp rebound from the nearly flat (1.2%) growth experienced in 2012. Strong demand for
smartphones across all geographies will drive much of this growth as worldwide smartphone
shipments are expected to surpass 1 billion units for the first time in a single year.”
International Data Corporation (IDC)
"Two years ago, the worldwide smartphone market flirted with shipping half a billion units for the first
time – to double that in just two years highlights the ubiquity that smartphones have achieved. The
smartphone has gone from being a cutting-edge communications tool to becoming an essential
component in the everyday lives of billions of consumers."
Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team.

5. Growing of mHealth
According to the World Bank, three quarters of people on Earth have access to a mobile phone .
There are now at least 6 billion mobile phone subscriptions active, up from 1 billion in the year
2000 -- and 5 billion of those are in developing countries. So a key way cell phones change the
world is what they were designed for: communication.
As cell phones have become commonplace in the developing world, the field of "mHealth" (mobile
health) has emerged. mHealth programs connect remote communities with healthcare services
and expertise, all conducted using cell phones.
Health workers in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa use cell phones to contact medical specialists ,
who can help address critical health issues. That helps field workers determine what's treatable in
the field, and identify patients who may need to be taken to a hospital.
Chris Higgins

6. Despite all the effort governments put into
improving healthcare systems, we keep
getting a common feedback from patients
worldwide…
“I didn’t get appropriate help”

10. All of this
Makes us ask ourselves….

12. We need to create a global support group app
We need Isupport

13. Understanding support groups
A support group is a gathering of people who share a common health concern or interest. A support group usually
focuses on a specific situation or condition, such as breast cancer, diabetes, heart disease, addiction or long-term
caregiving, for example. Support groups are not the same as group therapy sessions. Group therapy is a formal
type of mental health treatment that brings together several people with similar conditions under the guidance of a
trained mental health provider.
Support groups may be formed by a lay person with the condition or by someone interested in it, such as a family
member. In some cases, support groups may be formed by nonprofit organizations, advocacy organizations,
mental health clinics or other organizations.
Support groups also come in a variety of formats, including in person, on the Internet or by telephone. They may be
led by professional facilitators — such as a nurse, social worker or psychologist — or by group members. Some
groups are educational and structured. For example, the group leader may invite a doctor, psychologist, nurse or
social worker to talk about a topic related to the group's needs. Other support groups emphasize emotional
support and shared experiences.
Healthy Lifestyle
Mayo Clinic

14. Benefits of support groups
Members of a support group typically share their personal experiences and offer one another emotional comfort and
moral support. They may also offer practical advice and tips to help other patients cope others situations.
Benefits of participating in support groups may include:
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Feeling less lonely, isolated or judged
Gaining a sense of empowerment and control
Improving your coping skills and sense of adjustment
Talking openly and honestly about your feelings
Reducing distress, depression or anxiety
Developing a clearer understanding of what to expect with your situation
Getting practical advice or information about treatment options
Comparing notes about resources, such as doctors and alternative options
Healthy Lifestyle
Mayo Clinic

15. Isupport: proposition
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Create a platform App able to create support groups and unite individuals
worldwide
Each support group would be guided by a group leader under supervision
of a doctor, psychologist, nurse or social worker
Users would have the liberty of interacting with others anonymously
App users through Isupport would be able to create a support group for
their community according to their needs and problems
Hospitals & Clinics would be able to help their patients by providing help,
information and guidance care 24 hours a day through the help of
thousands of users around the world.

16. Isupport: how it works
1
2
3
4
-Start helping
-Ask for help

17. Isupport: Face-to-face customer meetings
Questions asked to 20 randomly individuals
1. Do you know what a “support group” is?
2. Do you have support group in your community?
3. Would you like a support group for your community?
4. Do you use internet to look for additional information about your or
relatives medical or emotional situations?
5. In case of suffering a chronic medical/emotional condition,would you like to
have an app on your smartphone to connect with others with the same
actual or past condition?
6. In case of needing a support group, would you prefer to join a face to face
group or through and worldwide connected app?
7. Do you like the idea of Isupport?

18. Results:
1. Do know what a “support group” is?
Answer: Yes 91%
No 3%
Don’t know/remember 6%
2. Do you have support groups in your community?
Answer: Yes 22%
No 16% Don’t know/remember 62%
3. Would you like a support group for your community?
Answer: Yes 98%
No % Don’t know/remember 2%
4. Do you use internet to look for additional information about your or
relatives medical or emotional situations?
Answer: Yes 84%
No 8% Don’t know/remember 8%

19. Cont. Results:
5. In case of suffering a chronic medical/emotional condition,would you like
to have an app on your smartphone to connect with others with the same
actual or past condition?
Answer: Yes 100%
No 0%
Don’t know/not sure 0%
6. In case of needing a support group, would you prefer to join a face to face
group or through and worldwide connected app?
Answer: Face to face 34%
App 64%
Don’t know/not sure 2%
7. Do you like the idea of Isupport?
Answer: Yes 99%
No 0%
Don’t know/not sure 1%

20. Conclusions of face-to-face customer meetings
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Most of the people said that they knew what support groups were about but this reason could be
more due to the easy guessing of what does the name implies than actually knowing the work of
support groups or past experiences with them. Beside this “guessing doubt” we could say that
this is an actual knowed tool and individuals are probably comfortable about using it , meaning
that this would decrease the learning curve of using support groups on a app.
Besides knowing what support groups are, it clearly seems that it is a resource that users are not
getting the advantage of them because for the majority, the purely existence of them in their
community remains unknown. Even so almost a 100% would like to have them at their reach.
This is the era of the information and that is why a significant group of patients or relatives of
patients search for additional information about a disease. We believe that the limited time of
physicians because of the increasing number of patients with chronic diseases would be one of
the reasons that patients start to search for the “additional help” that the healthcare system
wasn't able to give them (time for daily doubts, explaining & emotional support).

21. Conclusions of face-to-face customer meetings
• Without a doubt, all of them agreed that in case of having a chronic disease or suffering from
and emotional condition would like to have an app that it would connect them to others in the
same actual or past condition. This reflect that most of them, instead of conforming with the
diagnosis and treatment, have the need to talk to others and hear their experiences.
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More than half of the individuals would prefer to use a support group app than to assist
physically to one. Without resting importance to the strength of the “human touch”, we can't deny
that one of the difficulties of support groups in the communities is that people don't have time to
actually go to a meeting. It would be easier for them to take a break at work or without leaving
their home and connect rather than to travel to a meeting.
Finally and in a our favor, most of them liked the idea of Isupport. This means that after
understanding the importance of support groups, after imagining themselves passing through a
difficult situation and after meditating the reach and potential of today mHealth apps, everyone
would like to have help at the reach of their thumbs.

22. “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we
exchange these apples then you and I will still each have
one apple…
But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we
exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two
ideas.”
George Bernard Shaw