UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health Release “Heroes Health” Mental Wellness App | Business

Chapel Hill, NC-(BUSINESS WIRE)-(Business Wire)-July 14, 2020-

UNC School of Medicine (SOM) and UNC Health Heroes Health Initiative COVID-19 Helps support the mental health of first responders and health care workers during a global pandemic. Available from the US App Store/Google Play Store, this app is provided free of charge to first aid, healthcare professionals, and their organizations.

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Screenshot of Heroes Health app (Photo: Business Wire)

For individual healthcare professionalsThe Heroes Health app provides weekly short mental health self-assessments, displaying a summary report of symptoms to help you better understand your mental health status and change over time. The app also provides immediate support and links to mental health resources, focusing on free and low cost services.

For medical institutions This app, a partner of the Heroes Health Initiative, provides you with how to perform proactive worker outreach and the aggregate data you need to identify when/region you need more worker support. Developed by UNC Trauma Recovery Institute, Google Cloud, Alphabet-wide volunteers, the University’s Heroes Health app and its launch were made possible by generous support from donors, including: One Mind, Rockefeller Foundation, Bank of America, Lauder Foundation, And individuals.

How to use

For individual initial responders and healthcare professionals

Individual healthcare professionals who choose to join the initiative will download the free Heroes Health app to their iOS (Apple) or Android compatible smartphone. Every week, the app notifies workers that a simple mental health symptom assessment is available and assesses symptoms in key areas such as sleep, stress, anxiety/anxiety, sadness/depression.

As soon as the investigation is complete, workers can see a summary report of symptoms and trends in symptoms over time. The app also provides links to get emergency crisis support and other mental health resources, for example to improve crisis and sleep. This resource list focuses on apps and services offered for free or at low cost to healthcare professionals. UNC website also has a list Mental health resources And discount Products and services for healthcare professionals. Heroes Health receives no financial benefit or support from the products or services listed.

For organizations of first responders and healthcare professionals

For organizations affiliated with Heroes Health, this initiative will help the organization support workers in several other ways. First, anonymous group-level summaries and mental health trends for workers within the organization, by worker and department type within the organization, are shared weekly with department and organization leaders for additional benefits. Allows you to identify areas of time/organization. support.

In addition, worker feedback on organizational communication and worker support is provided weekly to leadership, providing a valuable opportunity to consult with workers at times of extreme stress. Finally, workers have the option of secretly sharing an overview of their individual mental health with their mental health workers. This provides your organization’s mental health workers with the opportunity to contact symptomatic workers to assist them in preparing thanksgiving and support, conversations, or interviews with mental health professionals. For workers at organizations affiliated with Heroes Health, the contact number for this mental health support worker is also included in the app so you can contact them for confidential support and resources.

How did it start

Dr. McLean and UNC School of Medicine

Heroes Health Initiative was founded by doctors at UNC School of Medicine Dr. Samuel McLean, Research Vice-Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, and the attending physician of the Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. McLean directly understands the major challenges faced by COVID workers as an emergency physician and COVID-19 unit worker, and as a COVID-19 survivor infected with COVID-19 and infected two families. ..

“First responders and healthcare professionals are currently facing many challenges,” said McLean. “There is a personal risk of serious illness and death. Worse, there is anxiety and fear of getting a loved one to live with someone who is especially vulnerable to COVID-19. It is an even bigger challenge for existing first responders or health care professionals to provide an easy and quick way for first responders and health care professionals to check in their mental health on a regular basis and find resources immediately. Is important, and it is also important to provide the organization with the tools that allow it to consider each other.”

Academic collaborator

Dr. McLean has had experience performing smartphone-based mental health assessments from thousands of trauma survivors, from his work as an NIH-funded researcher. He contacted a close collaborator, Ron Kessler, PhD, Professor McNeill Family of Harvard Medical School, and two of them, designed a simple smartphone-based assessment using a well-validated questionnaire and identified key areas impacting COVID-19 workers. Evaluated (sleep, stress, anxiety/anxiety, etc.). Sadness and depressive symptoms. McLean also included a team of other collaborators who worked on the development of the project.

• Kelly wrestler, MD, PhD, James and Patricia Poitras, Dean of Psychiatry, Harvard University

• Christopher Jones, MD, Frontline Emergency Doctor, Head of Clinical Research at Cooper University Health

• Frances caudan, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Emergency Medicine, Brown University

• Kalestan Kaenen, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health

• Samantha Meltzer-Blodie, Distinguished Professor, May Mandy, Maryland, Director of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina.

Support from Google, One Mind, Rockefeller Foundation, Bank of America

Dr. McLean needed a technology partner to help build the app for the initiative. The alphabet was a natural choice as it was already used by Dr. McLean’s lab Google Cloud.. With Google volunteers Cross (Alphabet’s “Moonshot Factory”) donated their time to develop the app, and Google Cloud offers free credit from their academic research programs. Heroes Health app is built on Google Cloud’s FDA open source implementation My study Allows the platform to grow based on demand.

Technical support was also provided Boston Technology Corporation.. Run by the UNC School of Medicine, this app is HIPAA compliant and uses Google Cloud’s robust security and privacy protections to protect your user data.

“Heroes Health is the first effort to focus on the mental health of COVID-19 healthcare workers under extreme pressure in this pandemic. Our volunteers have made such a valuable and important initiative. We are honored to be able to support you.” ObifertenResponsible for preparing moonshots for contact with the real world Cross..

National Mental Health and Brain Health Research Nonprofit Organization One mind Has supported Dr. McLean’s ongoing trauma research activities, including the AURONA research. One Mind supports financial support for the Heroes Health Initiative. “Healthcare workers work long hours in a highly contagious environment and often lack adequate safety equipment to make life-saving decisions while lowering their health and family health priorities. Is expected,” said One Mind President. Brandon Staglin.. “These demands place a great deal of stress on the physical and mental health of COVID-19 healthcare workers. Heroes Health provides mental health support to frontline caregivers and responds to pandemics. An important demonstration of how important private sector innovation is in.”

of Rockefeller Foundation It is also an important supporter. “Healthcare professionals appear every day to fight COVID-19 and keep us all safe. It’s a daunting task,” he said. The Earn Senior Vice President of Innovation at the Rockefeller Foundation. “The Rockefeller Foundation, which has supported public health innovation for over 100 years, is working with Google and One Mind to support the UNC School of Medicine and extend its mental health support to these frontline workers, Heroes Health. Was launched.”

“It’s important that we, as a community and a country, come together to support the frontline people who care for their citizens with Coronavirus,” he said. American Bank North Carolina Market President Charles Bowman.. “In partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation, funding this type of application was an easy decision. This type of application allows healthcare professionals to monitor services themselves and access services that deserve the support they need. Will help you.”

Heroes Health app public support

Citizens can contribute to ongoing support and national availability Hero health By donating through this Donation page..

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Source: UNC Health

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PUB: 07/14/2020 08:04 AM / DISC: 07/14/2020 08:04 AM

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