User perceived health outcomes and impact on healthcare utilization with a digital health program focused on chronic disease management (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Digital wellness and fitness programs offer numerous psychological and physical health benefits, yet to date, most programs have been aimed broadly at a younger healthy demographic. Older individuals and individuals with polychronic medical conditions may benefit from digital wellness programs. OBJECTIVE We sought to describe overall health and healthcare system utilization by users of a novel digital wellness program (“Mighty Health”) METHODS Convenience sample survey of Mighty health users that had been using the program for at least 90 days and completing at least 5 weekly tasks within the program. Survey queried demographics, overall health, weight loss, functional mobility, pain, and overall mood. Healthcare utilization was also assessed in the form of unscheduled doctor visits. For individuals with diabetes, participants were surveyed over HgbA1 change since starting Mighty Health. For individuals with hypertension, participants surveyed over change in systolic blood pressure. For individuals with hyperlipidemia, participants surveyed over change in LDL. RESULTS 166 active users of Mighty Health met inclusion criteria for the study and completed the survey. The mean age of participants was 61.2. 88.6% endorsed feeling overall healthier since starting Mighty Health. Participants on average experienced a weight loss of 11.2lbs (SD 12.7). 77.7% of the participants reported improvement in mobility. Among diabetes participants, participants reported an average decreased in their hemoglobin A1C by 0.7 (SD: 0.8), while those with HTN reported an improvement of 12 mm Hg (SD 12) in their systolic blood pressure. Individuals with hyperlipidemia, reported an average improvement in their LDL by 12 mg/dL (SD 16). 14.5% endorsed a decrease in these unscheduled healthcare visits since starting Mighty Health. CONCLUSIONS A Digital wellness program aimed at older individuals with polychronic disease showed encouraging positive associations between usage and health outcomes. Future trials exploring such programs may enhance primary and secondary prevention of disease in older adults. CLINICALTRIAL N/A