Cleveland Impacted by Aetna Foundation Grant to Launch Innovative Digital Program for Improved Health & Wellness

This week The Aetna Foundation announced more than $1.2 million in grants to support the use of digital health technology, including mobile health or mHealth, among vulnerable and minority populations. The grants are part of a larger $4 million, three-year digital health commitment from the Aetna Foundation for the implementation and evaluation of technology innovations to help address public health concerns.

 According to recent research from the Pew Research Center, 31 percent of cell phone owners used their phones to look for health information in 2012, up from 17 percent two years earlier. Latinos, African Americans and people between the ages of 18-49 are more likely than other groups to access health information on their mobile devices. Additional Pew Research also reveals that nearly a quarter of low-income adults in the U.S. own smartphones and regularly access the Internet on a mobile device.

 Text4Wellnes, an organization working to improve health and wellness outcomes for African American women ages 19-55 will launch its program to connect ministers and ministries to offer health programs in three communities – Cleveland, Atlanta and San Francisco. Text4Wellness is one of the first programs nationwide to utilize text messaging as a way of connecting with its targeted demographic to deliver health wellness prevention messages.

 “Through the support of the Aetna Foundation’s Digital Health Initiative, we will have the ability to empower people to take charge of their health,” said Silas Buchanan, CEO, Institute for eHealth Equity (IEHE). “Our Text4Wellness program will work with faith-based organizations in three vulnerable communities to offer health and wellness messaging that church leadership can use to connect with their congregations and share healthier lifestyle tips. This grassroots approach uses existing technology to reach people when they are most receptive to change within their communities to help make a positive health impact.”

 “Disparities in health care and limited access to preventive services are an unfortunate reality impacting the most vulnerable populations in our country today. However, we believe that digital health technology can serve as a powerful equalizer for improving health education and access to care among minority and low-income communities by reaching people where they are spending time – at school, at church, in their neighborhoods and on-the-go with real-time solutions that easily fit into their daily lives,” said Garth Graham, M.D., M.P.H., president of the Aetna Foundation. “By supporting technology that can empower individuals with the convenience and control to meet their personal health and wellness goals, the Aetna Foundation is working to build healthier communities, a healthier nation and a healthier world.”

  By leveraging the power of digital health technology, the Aetna Foundation is working to further its overall goal to improve health in vulnerable and minority communities. To learn more about the Aetna Foundation’s Digital Health Initiative and tangible ways your organization can benefit from their digital health innovations commitment, visithttp://bit.ly/1fY2VQ7 or join the digital health conversation on Twitter with #digitalhealth.