Hit the road to health

The world’s health professions have launched an easy-to-use app to help individuals and their health professionals reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – conditions that currently account for 60% of global deaths.

Called HealthyScore, the app was developed by the World Health Professions Alliance, WHPA, with the support of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA).

Why HealthyScore app?
HealthyScore helps individuals rate their habits with a traffic light system. Customisable reminders support them on the road to healthier living.

The app is designed to:

1. Educate individuals on how to improve their health through positive behaviour and lifestyle changes.
2. Empower individuals to work with their health professionals to establish personal health goals and to track their progress over time.

HealthyScore is the app version of the WHPA Health Improvement Card, an important component of the WHPA NCD campaign. Four biometric indicators and four behaviour indicators provide an overview of the person’s health status.
The app helps individuals rate their behaviours. Behaviours in red are labelled as highly risky. Behaviours in yellow indicate caution, and those in green correspond to healthy, sustainable behaviours. The goal is to help patients gradually move their behaviours to the green area.

The HealthyScore app and reminders offer support to individuals and their health professionals to establish mutually agreed goals so as to improve both lifestyle/behavioural and metabolic/biometric risk factors over time. Regular use of this resource allows individuals and health professionals to develop targeted interventions to improve health and wellbeing.

Overall, the app helps the health community pay due attention to the inextricable link between social determinants of health and the incidence of all NCDs — extending the scope to mental and oral conditions.

By focusing on a holistic approach to health, WHPA goes beyond the narrow frame of corrective NCD action and promotes a sustainable change in behaviours to achieve health. WHPA hopes this initiative will strengthen patient–health professional communication channels.

The HealthyScore app reminds people that health is in their own hands.