A little light bulb went off that environmental factors ARE a determinant of health. So, I started researching on how environmental factors were considered by the medical community for patients with specific health conditions. This research showed that environmental factors, for the most part, had been neglected by the medical community:
- Perhaps, it was because physicians and patients feel we are at the mercy of the weather and the environment: i.e., there’s nothing we can do to avoid the negative health outcomes associated with those conditions.
- Perhaps, weather forecasting had such a negative reputation, there was mistrust in the accuracy of forecasting potential health impacts.
- Perhaps, there just was not enough evidence of the correlation of weather and environmental exposure thresholds causing negative health outcomes.
My research identified a host of patient health conditions impacted by the weather and the environment, but respiratory conditions became my 1st area of focus because those impacts are clear and the impacts to patients, caregivers, and the healthcare system are substantial. As I explored how public health treated weather and environmental risks, I realized that the focus was on the exposures and not necessarily on how the individual patient was experiencing those exposures. I saw an opportunity to focus on delivering personalized health based on how patients experience the weather and environment daily.
My focus on allergies and asthma was not because of a personal connection, but I soon realized the needless suffering that these patients experienced, that was preventable, and inflicted a significant burden on them, their families, and their caregivers. I soon became sympathetic to this vulnerable population that did not have helpful tools to measure the weather and environmental impacts on their condition so that they could more effectively manage their condition and proactively prevent symptoms or worse, breathing difficulty. With DailyBreath, personalized health and precision care based on respiratory patients experience of triggers in their daily life is within reach.
Authored by Eric Klos, the Innovator of DailyBreath, a ‘Waze-like’ Respiratory Health App that Helps People Better Manage Their Triggers. After 25 years in Health IT Eric was inspired to focus on environmental factors as a determinant of health often neglected by the medical community. With DailyBreath, people with allergies, asthma, COPD, colds/flu, and viruses – like COVID-19 – can be weather informed, location aware, and health prepared. If you suffer from allergies or asthma, or are a caregiver of one who does, please TEXT ‘dbnow’ to 41411 to download DailyBreath from the Apple iTunes App store.