Jude
Developing a self-learning personalised pathway recommendation engine for age-related health diseases starting with bladder issues.
About the project
Jude is committed to redefining healthy ageing, with bladder care as an entry point. In the UK 14m people suffer bladder issues such as urinary incontinence (UI) and although UI can occur at any age it is more prevalent in older adults including up to 40% of women (Buckley et al., 2009)(Cooper et al., 2015).
Set against the backdrop of an ageing population, 18.4% of the UK are aged 65 or older, it is surprising that approaches to bladder healthcare and symptom management have only changed marginally. From urinary leak containment to medical interventions, the same major companies, treatments and surgeries are in play as they were 35 years ago. Each of the aforementioned presents their own issues; containment products are unsustainable, contributing to landfill, medications have been associated with adverse outcomes such as early onset dementia, whilst surgery is invasive and NHS wait times are long. Compounding these issues is a lack of funding for innovation and education for the public and healthcare professionals alike meaning many with UI are left to manage their symptoms alone and untreated.
Having UI can often lead to negative lifestyle changes including avoiding activity or social occasions for fear and shame of leaking. Many people with UI suffer from a poor quality of life, anxiety and depression which contribute to loneliness and isolation. For our ageing population this exacerbates already existing issues. UI is often a factor in care home admissions.
Jude is on a mission to change the landscape of bladder health. In our research we found there to be three core issues contributing to poor continence; education, management and treatment. With our Jude community we have delivered new products and taboo-breaking education. Through our research, we have acquired a pool of health data. Our ambition now is to use and expand our pool of unstructured health data, to create a personalised recommendation engine. Supporting this, will be a human centred data collection through a nurse-led support hotline. Overtime, the self-learning engine will be able to triage education, products and services against each individual’s profile to create a unique pathway. The proposed 360° is a holistic approach to bladder health encompassing prevention, management and treatment both medical and alternative. The proposed will be the first time all of the above is brought into one easily accessible space.