In this episode of the Digital Public Health Podcast, Rasmus Cloes and Anouk Wellmann discuss the potential of digital health applications (DiGA) for treating obesity.
Anouk, who studies health and care sciences at the University of Lübeck, explains the requirements that obesity apps must meet in order to be recognized as medical therapy. She wrote her bachelor's thesis on this topic at the University of Bremen. The resulting paper, “One app fits all? Ethical reflection on digital health applications in obesity care,” was written in the working group of PD Dr. Solveig Hansen at the Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research (IPP) at the University of Bremen. In our podcast, she provides insights into her research on DiGAs and discusses why it is often difficult to prove the long-term benefits of these apps.
Medical device or lifestyle app? Apps for obesity must be certified as medical devices – but to what extent can they meet the complex requirements of a chronic disease such as obesity? Anouk explains how current apps are structured and why, despite medical certification, they do not always reflect the individual needs of those affected.
Ethics and individualization: Where do obesity apps stand? Another central topic of the episode is ethical questions: Are the needs of patients being adequately addressed? And how can DiGAs be integrated into a multimodal treatment concept that also offers long-term support?
Listen now and find out why obesity apps still have a lot of potential – and what needs to happen for them to really support those affected. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!
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