Leeds Curated Apps Library

Owned by Toby Page
Jan 19, 2021
3 min read

History

It has been proven that users of health applications ‘apps’ have significantly higher confidence and motivation to track progress on a health related goal as well as a lower chance of developing chronic conditions. However, as many as two thirds of health apps are based on a lack of direct evidence and/or have weak data privacy safeguards. This has resulted in several issues experienced by the Leeds health and care professionals and commissioners highlighted during the workshop and roadshow sessions organised by the City Digital Team in 2019 and 2020:

  • People are overwhelmed by the choice of digital technology and apps, and do not know which ones to trust. The result is they either avoid using apps altogether or invest time and effort in a ‘solutions’ that are ineffective.

  • Those working in health and care are in a similar situation. The lack of accessible and trusted apps has resulted in avoidance of recommending them to people, which hampers pathway digitisation.

  • Health and care commissioners are not in a position to manage the thorough assessment and evaluation of apps creating a challenge in their selection and commissioning.

It has become clear that there is a need for a trusted source of validated, clinically safe, effective and user-friendly apps aligned to local health and care priorities. The Leeds Curated Apps Library project is initiated to address these issues by providing a trusted source of validated, clinically safe, effective and user-friendly apps, which are aligned to local health and care priorities.

The library will consist of curated apps for self-management, self-monitoring and prevention resources, and will support the Leeds population, including people with disabilities, carers, children and parents, with the management of their mental wellbeing, healthy living, independent living and long-term conditions. These key areas for the curated apps library were informed by the Adult Social Care, Public Health teams at the Leeds City Council, Leeds Community Health and Leeds CCG.

Objectives

 The Leeds Curated Apps library will:

  • Support the people of Leeds with their health and care management by increasing accessibility to effective, validated and trusted digital tools. 

  • Provide a source of robustly evaluated apps that social care and clinical teams can easily and comfortably recommend to people, saving them time and resources.

  • Support commissioners to make more informed decisions by providing them with business intelligence about the extent of digital prescribing by care practitioners and the self-prescription of recommended apps.

  • Enhance the digital offering to the Leeds population by integrating the library and apps with existing solutions to help digitise the health and care pathways. This will reduce demand for physical services and improve wellbeing and independence among the target population by giving them easily accessible tools for self-reporting and management.

Progress and next steps

Funding has been secured from the Better Care Fund to deliver the Leeds Curated Apps Library. Over the next two years the library will align with local pathways to increase the uptake of trusted and validated apps. Subject to funding Next steps are to carry out a market engagement exercise to appoint a supplier for the library development. This engagement will be supported by a group of experts from the Adult Social Care, Public Health teams at the Leeds City Council, Leeds Community Health and Leeds CCG who will inform on priority user groups for the library and support its embedment in local pathways.

Digital Sub Group members will be kept informed of progress of the creation and adoption of the Curated Apps Library.