Turning Community Health Challenges into Scalable Healthcare Technology Opportunities

Led by a young team of female health activists, Jihazak Hayati (translates into “Your Device is my Life”), is a health-focused community initiative that since 2010 targeted people who suffer from type A and type B diabetes in Jordan. Since it’s establishment, the initiative aimed at supporting patients in their life-style transition and re-integration within the society-at-larger post their diagnosis. This included advocating for their right in specialized and subsidized health services and access to free blood glucose monitors and blood strips. Supported by the Jordanian National Diabetes Center, the initiative continues to offer health awareness workshops and social activities to diabetic patients focused on creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including in sports and healthy eating.

Being one of the few diabetes-focused entities in Jordan, Jihazak Hayati team has identified outreach to, and involvement of, the 13% diabetic population  of Jordan as their main challenge. This leaves diabetics in Jordan, especially in less urban and underserved settings, at risk of receiving outdated and sometimes medically-inaccurate health advice. The team has also identified a lack of reliable Arabic technologies tools that help diabetic patients cope with the demands of their medical and personal lifestyles. Existing technologies lack blood glucose documentation and tracking logs, visualization tools of test results and ways to integrate the outputs of these tools with the health system or the patient’s medical team.

Tech Tribes’ Digital Impact Incubator “Houloul 2030” enabled Glucomate to innovate their healthcare services by digitizing their offline operations and engaging patients through a whole new patient experience. The challenges called for the need to capitalize on the power of interactive technology for the development of a  mobile application that acts as a digital companion to patients who often times feel overtaken by despaire.

What is Glucomate?

The first of it’s kind application, Glucomate aspires to become digital companion for Arab diabetic patients, providing a tool to track their medical condition, monitor their blood glucose levels and overall lifestyle. The app is built on customizable reminders in the form of push-notifications to remind the patient of necessary daily actions: like taking their medications on time, measuring their blood glucose level, taking a half an hour walk, eating a healthy snack ..etc.

The app allows patients to export a detailed report for any period of time they choose and share it with their health care provider in seconds.

Glucomate capitalizes on the ever growing Healthcare Technology—or healthtech— industry, Glucomate aims to capitalize on this sea change by using technology to provide patients faster, cheaper and more accessible care; generally, outside of a clinical setting.

Download the App:

• Google Play

Glucomate was developed with support from Tech Tribes through the –MEPI-funded “Houloul 2030: The Social Impact Incubator”. “Houloul 2030” adopts a novel approach to integrating social innovation and design thinking to the operational models and activities of social enterprizes and non-profits in the MENA Region. The aim is to help them design stronger, more responsive and replicable solutions that can amplify their impact.