Proprietary Behavior Change App to Increase USAF Health and Readiness
San Diego, Calif. - March 15, 2020 - SkillPower, innovative provider of willpower-boosting digital health apps, today announced it has signed the US Air Force and Department of Defense (DoD) as a client for collaboration on a diabetes focused behavior change app. SkillPower will work with the USAF and DoD to provide the latest behavior change research from major universities that measurably boosts user’s willpower to improve their health as part of an overall diabetes program.
“SkillPower is proud to be a part of USAF’s program to use innovative digital health apps to keep the armed forces physically and mentally healthy. We are excited to deploy a customized digital health coach that addresses critical health issues like obesity and diabetes,” says John Hartman, CEO at SkillPower.
SkillPower signed the contract through AFWERX, which is the USAF’s Silicon Valley-style startup accelerator supporting the federal government’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. A USAF representative commented “AFWERX has partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research process in an attempt to speed up the experience, broaden the pool of potential applicants and decrease bureaucratic overhead. The Air Force has begun offering 'Special' SBIR topics that are faster, leaner and open to a broader range of innovations.”
A recent DoD study found that roughly 20% of military personnel are considered obese. The study authors noted that obesity contributes to hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, all-cause mortality, and increased healthcare costs. The goal of SkillPower’s technology is to lower these incidences, lower costs and increase overall readiness.
“Behavior change apps that really work are needed more than ever,” added Kendra Markle, CTO and head of product, SkillPower. “It’s especially important for our armed forces to stay in top shape and make lifestyle changes that reverse diabetes and other chronic conditions”. As a recipient of a SBIR DoD contract, SkillPower is now able to provide similar solutions to the other branches of the armed forces.
SkillPower is an innovative digital health company focused on boosting user’s willpower to increase success rates with health and fitness programs. SkillPower’s digital health coach uses the latest university research in neuroscience, behavioral psychology and nutrition. The platform customizes its interaction to unique user personality types and features a “future-self” digital coach to increase effectiveness. SkillPower is a graduate of the NexCubed Digital Health Accelerator and works with the UCSD Design Lab as a research partner.
AFWERX serves as an entry point for industry to do business with the Air Force. It supports the mission of making the Air Force more innovative by uncovering ideas and opportunities to improve the service, connecting ideas with legitimate solutions, and transitioning tools to the warfighter.