Mental health has been a tricky subject to broach although one aspect of the ongoing pandemic has been that conversations surrounding mental health are more prominent.
However, there is still an alarming amount of stigma surrounding mental health issues and this prevents folks from speaking out or even seeking out help.
With that in mind, meet Panda, a firm that hopes to use data to address mental health problems as well as access to mental healthcare.
That had our guard up because data collection can become dangerous and when it comes to mental health, offering that data up only for it to be used improperly isn’t a good idea.
For that reason Panda’s data is anonymised but the information received by users is tailored to meet their needs.
“Panda users can also create their own data set. By completing screening assessments, they are provided with insights about how they might be faring at a particular point in time. Through the app’s gamified approach, users can track their (hopefully) improving screening scores, sessions attended and other activities,” the firm explains.
While that’s all fine and well, what interests us is how that data is going to be used in the future. Information and access to large swathes of data isn’t always a bad thing, despite what Silicon Valley has shown the world over the years.
Large amounts of data can be used to inform public policy and address issues that may not be well known, such as issues surrounding mental health. Panda says that it hopes to use the anonymous data its users provide to help others in the future as well as help to make the mental healthcare system more accessible.
“Over time, through feedback loops with users and by analysing data, recommendations will become much more accurate and useful to both mental health users and providers of care,” adds Panda.
This essentially means that if you are comfortable with sharing your data in this way, you are getting in on the ground floor so expect teething issues and maybe don’t use it as your sole source of mental health care guidance.
“Our supportive ‘Forest’ feature enables participants to engage via live sessions among a community of other app users who may be facing similar challenges. And through access to experts – who also participate in the Forest – people are able to gain a better understanding of mental health-related topics,” explains Panda co-founder, Alon Lits.
This sounds like a good idea and we’re all for greater awareness of mental health issues and more affordable access to mental health care. Whether Panda can help bring those about remains to be seen but at least its trying something different.
We should also mention that despite the similarity in the name, Panda is in no way affiliated with the Pandemics ~ Data & Analytics group which has come under fire several times for allegedly spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
If you feel like you could benefit from Panda you can download the app for free for Apple iOS and Android systems.
