Fighting the Flab with Open Innovation
A new open innovation challenge is seeking solutions for the toughest healthcare issues facing women and their families.
Launched by Novant Health, a not-for-profit based in North Carolina, the current four-week project hopes to conclude with a collection of ready-to-pilot ideas to better manage weight.
Bulging waistlines is one of the most problematic health issues today. Many Americans are tipping the scales at an unhealthy weight and this can lead to numerous health problems including diabetes, heart disease and an increased risk of stroke.
The reasons why many people are expanding in such large numbers are well understood. They include poor diet, lack of time to prepare healthy meals, stressful lives, little or no exercise and a couch potato lifestyle. However, many of the health warnings and public health initiatives are not getting through.
A New Approach
The current challenge asks a simple enough question: “What can families do to support each other, manage their weight together and lead healthy lives?”
Participants submit their ideas to the online crowdsourcing platform and community members can pass comment and up vote or down vote an idea.
Experts representing all sectors of the community will review submitted ideas to help people make up their minds on which ones to push to the front.
“At Novant Health, we believe that our communities, with this kind of collaboration, can come together to produce ideas that could reverse this trend and make an impact on our future health,” said Matthew Gymer, corporate director of innovation of Novant Health.
The open innovation challenge is active from Sept. 13 – Oct. 11. To view the website, click here.
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