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Why is it important?

Many people struggle with basic needs like food, housing, and transportation—challenges that directly affect their health. Digital health apps could help connect people to resources, but most aren't designed with low-income users in mind. We interviewed 26 individuals facing these challenges and spoke with 28 professionals who work with them to understand what features would actually be helpful. We found five key needs: apps should offer multiple languages and simple visuals; efficiently connect users to multiple services at once; provide encouraging, personalized messages; include clear guidance and user reviews; and protect privacy while building trust. When we examined 17 existing apps, we discovered most fall short in these areas. For example, many require lengthy questionnaires that can't be saved partway through, don't filter services based on eligibility, and lack motivational support. Our findings show that to be truly useful, digital health tools must be designed together with the people who will use them—not just for them. Better-designed apps could improve health outcomes for everyone.

Perspectives

After more than three decades as a family physician, I've seen firsthand how challenges like food insecurity, unstable housing, and lack of transportation profoundly affect my patients' health—often more than any medication I could prescribe. Through our NeighborhoodHELP program, I've worked alongside families navigating these obstacles for over 15 years, and I've witnessed the frustration when well-intentioned resources remain out of reach simply because systems are too fragmented or complicated. What makes this research particularly meaningful to me is that we didn't just study the problem from a distance—we sat down with the people living these experiences and the frontline workers supporting them. Their insights were eye-opening, even for someone who thought he understood the challenges well. Hearing directly from participants that motivational messages matter, that questionnaires need to respect their time, and that trust must be earned through transparency fundamentally shaped how we're building the FIU Thrive platform. This work reminds me why I went into medicine: to serve and learn from the community. I hope it inspires other researchers and developers to genuinely partner with the people they aim to help.

David Brown
Florida International University

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Evaluating the Needs and Characteristics of Individuals of Low Socioeconomic Status Using Digital Health Technology to Address Health-Related Social Needs: Mixed Methods Study With Patients and Care Providers, JMIR Human Factors, September 2025, JMIR Publications Inc.,
DOI: 10.2196/69545.
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