Smart and Connected Churches for Promoting Health in Disadvantaged Populations
Wed 09.30.20
Smart and Connected Churches for Promoting Health in Disadvantaged Populations
Wed 09.30.20
Wed 09.30.20
Wed 09.30.20
Wed 09.30.20
Wed 09.30.20
This project focuses on development of technologies to improve population health for an underserved urban community in Boston. We are working with communities in a network of 12 churches in the Boston area, along with volunteers who provide health promotion outreach (“Health Ministry”), the church leadership, and a community liaison affiliated with a hospital, to improve the overall health of this predominately African American community. African Americans struggle significantly more with many health behaviors (e.g., smoking, physical activity) and have significantly higher rates of many chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension), compared to other racial and ethnic groups. In this effort, we are collaborating with members of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Boston and Health Ministry leaders of member churches to develop a range of sensing, monitoring, and messaging technologies to provide a smartphone-based conversational agent system that can improve health for community members. The system will empower this community of individuals to collectively solve health-relevant problems it identifies as important, such as exercise and diet promotion.
This project focuses on development of technologies to improve population health for an underserved urban community in Boston. We are working with communities in a network of 12 churches in the Boston area, along with volunteers who provide health promotion outreach (“Health Ministry”), the church leadership, and a community liaison affiliated with a hospital, to improve the overall health of this predominately African American community. African Americans struggle significantly more with many health behaviors (e.g., smoking, physical activity) and have significantly higher rates of many chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension), compared to other racial and ethnic groups. In this effort, we are collaborating with members of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Boston and Health Ministry leaders of member churches to develop a range of sensing, monitoring, and messaging technologies to provide a smartphone-based conversational agent system that can improve health for community members. The system will empower this community of individuals to collectively solve health-relevant problems it identifies as important, such as exercise and diet promotion.