Here are five different health apps that helped improve our fitness and wellbeing and gave us useful information during COVID 19.
Coronavirus had an unprecedented impact on healthcare in Australia. And changed the traditional way treatment was distributed and delivered. With digital technology and healthcare professionals forced to combine their services the use of telehealth surged – and allowed “health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies” to effectively attend to the needs of even the most remote patients.
Here are five digital health-based organisations, apps and approaches that truly made an impact in improving people’s wellbeing 2020.
1. COVIDSafe
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/covidsafe/id1509242894
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.gov.health.covidsafe&hl=en_AU&gl=US
Released by the Australian Health Department, the COVIDSafe app served as a contact tracking tool designed to slow the spread of the virus.
2. Bloom
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/bloom-meditation-sleep/id1469479066
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.applantis.bloomapp&hl=en_AU&gl=US
This free online self-help program features over 500+ exercises from cognitive-behavioural-therapy (CBT), designed to significantly improve mild-to-moderate symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. According to its founder, Molly Jane, the app saw a surge in usage, as coronavirus-related stress drove young people to find solutions on their phones.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.telehab.client.pwa&hl=en_AU&gl=US
In an attempt to control the spread of COVID19, and adhere to the rules of quarantine and movement restrictions, physiotherapists were forced to innovate and use telehealth to allow patients to attend appointments virtually. Through Telehab, therapists were empowered to consult via video and prescribe a treatment program, while patients were also able to record themselves performing their home exercises. This allowed for a safe and confidential way to digitally report and track progress for all participants.
- F45 Training
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/f45-training/id946427655
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fitnessmobileapps.f45training&hl=en_AU&gl=US
With gyms, fitness studios and indoor boot camps forced to shut their doors during the height of the pandemic in March, 2020, fitness brands pivoted and provided a solution to the mission of keeping physically fit by offering a plethora of free online or subscription classes and routines. One of the best was the F45 Challenge app which provided users with body weight exercises designed to be completed at home.
- Daybreak by Hello Sunday Morning
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/daybreak-alcohol-support/id1107514492
While COVID closed pubs and limited public gatherings, social isolation created a lonely, stressful, anxious situation that had the potential to serve as a trigger for alcohol abuse.
In recognising the importance of responding to this, online and phone support services for people experiencing drug and alcohol problems received an additional $6 million from the Australians Government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of them was Daybreak by Hello Sunday Morning – a treatment and early invention mobile app that provides online support to individuals seeking assistance in reducing their alcohol consumption. This provided a substitute for people who may have previously relied on face-to-face meetings with counsellors and psychologists to continue to receive the support they required to make healthy choices about their drinking behaviours.
