How We Feel Partners with State of Connecticut
Using tech to track physical and emotional health during COVID-19
On April 20, 2020, Governor Lamont announced a partnership with the developers of How We Feel to provide scientists with critical and anonymous health data stating,
“We’re all looking for something we can do to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this app provides an opportunity for everyone — regardless of whether you are currently sick or if you are in healthy condition — to share how you’re feeling with leading health professionals, so they can track the spread of this virus and quickly determine where a new outbreak may occur.”
Gov. Lamont went on to explain that data collection can also reveal which which health measures have the fastest impact, allowing doctors and scientists to apply learnings in other areas.
Dr. Albert Ko, co-chair of the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group, added, “We can all be assured that by partnering with most trusted and high-caliber doctors and scientists who created How We Feel, we can provide not only the best care but also the highest standards of data privacy.”
Indra Nooyi, former CEO of Pepsi and co-chair of Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group, described the impact of understanding both physical and emotional health in the time of COVID-19: “As our task force works on our plan for fighting the virus and getting the state back to work, How We Feel will be a critical tool for us to get a better understanding of how the whole population is feeling, both healthy and sick. This will enable us to more quickly make important decisions about opening the economy.”
Governor Lamont shared some closing thoughts on the future of this important partnership: “The How We Feel app has been a valuable tool for our public health team as we have worked tirelessly to control the spread of COVID-19. We know it will continue to be helpful as we head toward the Fall and Winter months.”
Data from the app’s one-minute health check-ins has been collected from more than 500,000 users to date. Analysis of this longitudinal and geographically localized data has gone beyond informing a reactive response to revealing unique patterns and insights. The How We Feel team is excited about the opportunity to provide personalized insight based on larger physical and emotional health tracking, behavior, and demographic information.
