healthsupport

Healthsupport refers to a range of services and resources aimed at helping individuals achieve and maintain better health outcomes. It encompasses clinical activities that support healthcare delivery, as well as social, emotional, and practical assistance that enables people to manage illness, prevent disease, and adopt healthy behaviors within their communities.

Forms of healthsupport include care coordination and patient navigation to help keep appointments and treatment plans, health coaching and education to improve self-management, peer support and mentoring, hotlines and helplines, telehealth and digital tools for monitoring and reminders, and community-based programs delivered by trained health workers, nurses, or volunteers that address social determinants of health.

Delivery settings and modalities vary and may occur in hospitals, clinics, primary care practices, community centers, schools, workplaces, or through online platforms and mobile apps. Effective healthsupport emphasizes accessibility, cultural relevance, privacy, and continuity of care, often integrating with medical records and public health services.

Potential benefits include improved treatment adherence, better symptom control, reduced emergency visits, enhanced patient experience, and progress toward preventive goals. Evidence for outcomes depends on program design, population, and context, and cost-effectiveness can vary.

Challenges include disparities in access and digital literacy, data privacy concerns, funding and workforce constraints, and the need to coordinate across multiple providers and social services to address social determinants of health.