Proposal

Diabetes is a major concern globally, particularly in countries like the Philippines. The International Diabetes Federation shared alarming statistics: around 536.6 million people, or 10.5% of adults between 20 and 79 years old, were living with diabetes in 2021 (Sun et al., 2022). The future looks even more daunting, with an estimated 783.2 million people expected to be affected by 2045. This issue disproportionately impacts poorer nations and the elderly, especially those between 75 and 79 years old, facing a diabetes prevalence rate of 24%. In the Philippines, diabetes was the 5th leading cause of death from January to December 2021, underscoring the urgency of this issue (Girón & De La Vega, 2022).

In a seminar called “Feeding Metro Manila in 2050: Promoting Responsible Consumption to Address Unhealthy Eating Preferences of Consumers” organized by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) way back in 2021, it was emphasized that unhealthy lifestyle leads to illness and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. Aside from health risks, this also leads to additional health expenditures, economic losses, and death. Cities such as Quezon City are no exception due to high volumes of fast food consumption. Mediation efforts have been made such as in 2017, the Anti-Junk Food and Sugary Drinks Ordinance aimed to plant the seed of reducing non-communicable diseases by banning the selling of junk food within a 100-meter radius of school premises. Many more have been implemented since then such as free risk screening, laboratory workup, nutritional counseling, zumba exercise, prescriptions, and medicine for health beneficiaries (Rasco, 2022).

However, in a study back in 2021 involving the data of 1378 people in the National Kidney and Transplant Institute based in Quezon City, the patients with type 2 diabetes who have poor control of their diseases incurred a total cost of about Php 37,000 annually and about Php 31,000 to those with good control. This amount corresponds to medications, testing kits, medical checkups, and laboratory tests that diabetic patients use on a year-round basis (Jimeno et al., 2021). This is a huge portion of the household income considering the wage in Metro Manila. 

Financial problems are already a huge burden but other important problems also need to be addressed: the patient’s physical and emotional aspects in managing this disease.  Diabetes is a chronic disease that greatly takes a toll on the physical health of the person; it causes problems with mobility, seeing, and physical healing tVitalRadar stands as a pioneering force in the digital health domain, specifically designed to tackle the escalating challenge of lifestyle diseases, specifically diabetes, which are deeply influenced by day-to-day lifestyle choices.

The specific problems we want to solve regarding diabetes management are:

• Diabetes management requires on-time and consistent monitoring of glucose level everyday every after meal.
• Traditional glucometers aren’t built with capability to sync with existing software platforms that are for managing diabetes.
• There is a lack of knowledge in accurately interpreting their current health condition.

Our startup introduces BuddyBetes, a digital health website application platform designed to transform the way patients and caretakers manage lifestyle diseases, with a particular focus on diabetes.

BuddyBetes stands as a pioneering force in digital health, specifically designed to enhance diabetes management and contribute to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being. By simplifying the monitoring of glucose levels through Optical Character Recognition (OCR), analytical dashboards, and digital health logs, BuddyBetes enables proactive health interventions, reducing the risk of diabetes-related complications and improving overall health outcomes. This proactive approach aligns perfectly with the goal of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages.

Furthermore, BuddyBetes addresses SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities by providing an affordable and accessible platform that reaches underserved populations, particularly in rural and economically disadvantaged areas. The technology ensures that all patients, regardless of location or economic status, have equal access to personalized and informed healthcare services, reducing disparities in health access and outcomes.

To measure the impact of BuddyBetes, we propose tracking pre- and post-intervention access to diabetes management tools and medications, particularly focusing on increases among populations in rural or underprivileged areas. Health outcome metrics, such as reductions in diabetes-related complications and hospital admissions, will directly demonstrate the benefits of improved disease management. Additionally, user adoption rates and stakeholder feedback from patients, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance providers will offer both quantitative and qualitative data on the platform’s effectiveness and areas for improvement.

By integrating these strategies, BuddyBetes not only aligns with these critical SDGs but also sets a benchmark for measuring its impact, ensuring that health improvements are both significant and sustainable.

References:

Girón, M., & De La Vega, S. a. F. (2022). Prevalence of Diabetes among Community-Living Older Persons in the Philippines: the FITForFrail study. Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies, 37(2), 23–27. https://doi.org/10.15605/jafes.037.02.15

Jimeno, C., Sy, R. A., De La Pena, P., Cipriano, C., Tan, R., Panelo, A., & Ng, J. (2021). Direct medical costs of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Philippines: findings from two hospital databases and physician surveys. BMJ Open, 11(10), e049737. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049737

Rasco, E. T. (2022). Feeding Metro Manila in 2050: A Food System Vision. Transactions of the National Academy of Science and Technology/Transactions of the National Academy of Science and Technology, 42(2020), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.57043/transnastphl.2020.2305

Sun, H., Saeedi, P., Karuranga, S., Pinkepank, M., Ogurtsova, K., Duncan, B. B., Stein, C., Basit, A., Chan, J. C., Mbanya, J. C., Pavkov, M. E., Ramachandaran, A., Wild, S. H., James, S., Herman, W. H., Zhang, P., Bommer, C., Kuo, S., Boyko, E. J., & Magliano, D. J. (2022). IDF Diabetes Atlas: Global, regional and country-level diabetes prevalence estimates for 2021 and projections for 2045. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice (Print), 183, 109119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2021.109119