Well Happy app aims to revolutionise healthcare:
Well Happy presents information about mental and sexual health and substance abuse in a readily accessible format.
A new app dedicated to providing information about health issues to young people has launched and is already receiving rave reviews from the public and health professionals.
Well Happy is for people aged 12-25 in London who are concerned about mental and sexual health, drugs, alcohol and smoking. It also allows them to quickly and easily access support networks which exist in the capital.
Katherine Cormack, who helped develop the app and has experience of mental health problems herself, said: "All the feedback has been really positive. I've had emails from young people across the city. We have had a huge amount of interest across the UK and Europe. People have been asking if it's going to become bigger and include other cities."
Well Happy, which launched at the healthcare innovation expo on 13 March, has also been supported by various celebrities including singer Joss Stone, former Eastenders' star Joe Swash, designer Sadie Frost and actor Ralph Little.
Cormack said: "It's been nice to go to someone who's not from a health background and for them to understand it straight away. They've said really glowing things about it."
Cormack, who worked with the NHS, the charity Young Minds and social enterprise initiative Living Well to build the app, saw the need for clear and concise information that would be easily available to young people.
She said: "A lot of the time, people are told they should talk to their doctor or a teacher and often they're too embarrassed, don't have the right way of expressing themselves or don't want to talk to their teacher about what's going on. We wanted something that would offer tailored information and be quick and easy for them to access when and where they need it."
The project has been rendered all the more personal to Cormack because of her background battling anxiety and depression from a young age.
She said: "I know when I was growing up, I found it really difficult. Going to my GP and saying I needed help was the hardest thing I'd ever done at that point and it was only because of people I knew from support groups online that I went to my doctor at all.
"After going to the doctor I was referred onto a four month waiting list which, when you're 14 and suicidal and don't know where else you can get help, is not a fun place to be.
"I really wish there had been something when I was younger so I could have had control over my own care."
Although the app is only available for people in London at the moment, there are plans to launch it in other cities throughout the UK.
The team also has plans to add some more interactive features such as a mood tracker and a medication reminder.
For now, they remain open to ideas from any young people or health professionals on what should be included in the app. Guardian Professional.
A new app dedicated to providing information about health issues to young people has launched and is already receiving rave reviews from the public and health professionals.
Well Happy is for people aged 12-25 in London who are concerned about mental and sexual health, drugs, alcohol and smoking. It also allows them to quickly and easily access support networks which exist in the capital.
Katherine Cormack, who helped develop the app and has experience of mental health problems herself, said: "All the feedback has been really positive. I've had emails from young people across the city. We have had a huge amount of interest across the UK and Europe. People have been asking if it's going to become bigger and include other cities."
Well Happy, which launched at the healthcare innovation expo on 13 March, has also been supported by various celebrities including singer Joss Stone, former Eastenders' star Joe Swash, designer Sadie Frost and actor Ralph Little.
Cormack said: "It's been nice to go to someone who's not from a health background and for them to understand it straight away. They've said really glowing things about it."
Cormack, who worked with the NHS, the charity Young Minds and social enterprise initiative Living Well to build the app, saw the need for clear and concise information that would be easily available to young people.
She said: "A lot of the time, people are told they should talk to their doctor or a teacher and often they're too embarrassed, don't have the right way of expressing themselves or don't want to talk to their teacher about what's going on. We wanted something that would offer tailored information and be quick and easy for them to access when and where they need it."
The project has been rendered all the more personal to Cormack because of her background battling anxiety and depression from a young age.
She said: "I know when I was growing up, I found it really difficult. Going to my GP and saying I needed help was the hardest thing I'd ever done at that point and it was only because of people I knew from support groups online that I went to my doctor at all.
"After going to the doctor I was referred onto a four month waiting list which, when you're 14 and suicidal and don't know where else you can get help, is not a fun place to be.
"I really wish there had been something when I was younger so I could have had control over my own care."
Although the app is only available for people in London at the moment, there are plans to launch it in other cities throughout the UK.
The team also has plans to add some more interactive features such as a mood tracker and a medication reminder.
For now, they remain open to ideas from any young people or health professionals on what should be included in the app. Guardian Professional.
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