Inspiration
We were all interested in the health field, and we wanted to help with irrational fears by a very popular search topic: What do my symptoms show? A symptom of a fever and a stuffy nose might point straight to a terminal illness on the web, when in reality, it is just a common cold. These cause anxiety and unnecessary worries. All of us have experienced this, with us dwelling over what we could have. We wanted to alleviate those worries and have symptoms and conditions that are more common, and what people can rely on when their symptoms are not as serious. Another thing that we wanted to do was increase and speed up communication with the physicians. This is because any symptom or illness could relate to another condition, and help the doctor when at an appointment. Communication is key in the health field, and by being able to relay information to doctors also provide protection and more information on more serious conditions.
What it does
The app assesses the severity of pain inputted by the user, as well as checks symptoms that the user checks off in the check boxes and provides them with possible causes and conditions.
Why VALA Health?
It screens symptoms easily with a checklist, provides with a list of possible diagnoses, it is easy to send results to your physician, allows doctors to look at causes and symptoms before you arrive or without driving to the center, and your doctor can easily let you know whether you need to visit or not depending on the results of VALA Health. It eliminates the fear of severe illnesses, doctors can look at symptoms / diagnoses and let you know if they see anything severe or follow up with you, and provides you with what action you should take based on severity and symptoms Check boxes, enter a phone number, and VALA! Our app is all yours.
How we built it
We built it using Android Studio, using java and xml, with the front end being more focused on the xml and the back-end being more concentrated in the java language. We also used Google's FireBase to create our cloud database.
Challenges we ran into
We had to learn how to use Android Studio and certain java codes. One person in our group had malfunctions that ultimately led to not being able to use Android Studio, so we had to work around that using platforms like Repl.it. Connecting the cloud database to Android Studio was a challenge that took us hours. We also had to learn how to neutralize the bugs that were built into the IDE and database.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We're proud of learning how to use another program to build apps. Some of us just started java a few weeks ago, so we took a long time learning how to use java in this context, and extend it to xml. Ultimately, we were able to figure it out and create HealthGo. We're also proud of how we were able to create real-time databases and incorporate it with out app.
What we learned
We learned how to use Android Studio and extend our java knowledge into xml. We also learned how to create listeners for the buttons we created. Most of us were new with the concepts of front-end and back-end, so we learned what those are, and tried out both during this hackathon. We also learned how to effectively use a cloud database to improve what our product could offer compared to a built-in file.
What's next for Health Checker
We hope to increase the scope of conditions and symptoms. We would also want to add a GPS feature that would take in the location of the user, and find the nearest emergency center, urgent care, or hospital, as that is a constant problem that could delay transportation during an emergency.
Resources we utilized
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ow3L39Wxmg N.a. "Diseases & Conditions A-Z Index - A." Cdc.gov, 11 Dec. 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/diseasesconditions/az/a.html. Accessed 11 Apr. 2021.
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