Aline Mola
Developing an innovative e-health platform to manage diabetes in the Netherlands.
Throughout my academic and professional journey, I have explored health from multiple perspectives—ranging from biology and psychology to global, social, and political dimensions, as well as through data analysis. The HTRIC project provides an exciting opportunity to bring many of these diverse facets of health with the aim of driving meaningful change.
This project focuses on developing an innovative e-health platform designed to incentivize and enhance adherence to essential lifestyle changes, both to prevent and manage diabetes in the Netherlands. With diabetes affecting a significant portion of the Dutch population, and the number of cases expected to rise in the coming years, this initiative has the potential to not only improve quality of life for many, but also alleviate the economic burden of the condition.
This project is applied for by prof.dr. Hilbrand Oldenhuis (Hanze University of Applied Science), Dr. Elisabeth Wilhelm (RUG) and prof. dr. Claudine Lamoth (UMCG)
Project start: September 2024
Why do so many people abandon health apps?
Achieving your health goals can be challenging, especially when it involves changing your daily habits. Many apps promise to help: step counters, food diaries, personalised exercise programs designed for your specific body type or metabolism. Some require you to manually input data, like calorie counters, while others use wearables and sensors to track progress automatically. Some apps simply analyse your data, while others, like Sweatcoin, try to motivate users with rewards. Certain apps even provide personalised advice and recommendations based on your health data.
With so many options, you might find yourself endlessly browsing app stores, downloading promising apps, and creating accounts – only to discover that essential features are locked behind a paywall. Frustrated and discouraged, many people give up on using health apps altogether. If this sounds familiar, you may have experienced app fatigue – the sense of frustration, disengagement, and lack of motivation caused by an overwhelming number of digital health solutions.
App fatigue isn’t the only reason people stop using mobile health (mHealth) tools. Studies show that more than half of users abandon an mHealth app within the first 100 days. Common reasons include a lack of expert-backed content, technical issues, confusing interfaces, and unrealistic expectations. While health apps are beneficial, especially for certain groups like people living with type 2 diabetes, adherence remains a major challenge.
So, what makes a health app truly effective and how can we better use mHealth to support healthy living? Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, future health technologies need to adapt to users’ needs, integrate into daily life, and provide meaningful, science-backed recommendations. This way we can truly harness the potential of technology to improve health and wellbeing.