Leo Thompson
People with a chronic medical diagnosis not only suffer from the complications of their illness, they also frequently suffer from social isolation. Usually, these individuals are alone in their personal network of friends and family, who lack the same experiences and cannot empathize with their situation. In the United States, over 130,000,000 have chronic conditions. Social isolation and loneliness affects people with rare or common chronic conditions, and this leads to stress, anxiety, and depression (Yang et al, 2013). Furthermore, these complications lessen treatment effectiveness thus worsening patient outcomes (Sherrill et al, 2017). Through the MedMatch (medmatch.io), Apollo connects people with chronic medical conditions, so they can meet others who share their experiences and eliminate the social isolation and loneliness which stem from medical conditions. Our vision is a world in which any medical patient can find the the peer support they deserve.
Library Mentor: Carol Shannon