These days, everyone is faced wth a multitude of options to improve a loved one's health. There's new diets, new surgeries, new pills, new technologies. Buy them something to wear, send them to a new doctor, tell them to eat something else.
Everyone seems to have an answer. But at Welld Health, we're subscribed to a couple of time-tested theories: You can pay them, or you can pressure them. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel from the University of Pennsylvania said it better in the Wall St. Journal:
“The only interventions that seem to change the behavior of patients in a lasting way are financial incentives (mainly to stop smoking) and long-term, face-to-face relationships with nurses and health-care coordinators.”
Emanuel, Ezekiel J. (2017, November 10). The Hype of Virtual Medicine. The Wall Street Journal.
While we're not quite in the financial position to start paying people, we can do something about the relationships. Welld offers software to run wellness challenges at companies, assessment programs at health clubs, and prescription referrals for physicians. These structured experiences motivate the population to develop long-term relationships. Our programs encourage one-on-one coaching. They use teams and cohorts to provide social interaction. And they encourage long-term understanding of "how" to exercise to develop healthy routines.
We've all been there at one time or another. A friend is waiting for us. A teacher expects us to complete an assignment. A trusted physician gives us a prescription to fill. Exercise can leverage these basic human pressures to motivate people to develop healthy wellness routines.