SafeHealth

Health Track

Inspiration

This summer the Trump administration removed from law protections meant to keep LGBTQ people from being discriminated against in healthcare. For me, it meant that I had to go in to see my doctor, asking them to take anything they had with regard to my sexual orientation out of their files for fear the next time I go to the doctor I may not receive the same treatment as somebody else. On a broader scale, this meant that millions of people across the United States could face rejection even in emergency situations because something as arbitrary as their gender or sexuality was considered distasteful, sinful, or disgusting. LGBTQ people already face huge barriers to health. They are less likely to have access to health insurance, while also being one of the demographics most in need of it. LGBTQ people are more likely to have face physical abuse both in and out of their homes, more likely to suffer from mental illnesses brought on by societal isolation, more likely to face addiction issues, more likely to be raped, the list goes on and on and on. Add on top of the homophobia that runs rampant through the healthcare industry and you get way too many people facing a way shorter lifespan.

Being queer in the United States takes 12 years off your lifespan. These effects are multiplied when you move out of the cities to more rural areas where LGBTQ people are less likely to have a community to help them and less likely to have a supportive and affordable health clinic. And with COVID more and more LGBTQ people are finding themselves having to relocate to more rural areas out of necessity, be it for financial or health security. What happens to these populations? What can they do to make sure they are safe? Who will be there for them? In cities, even though the likelihood they will face a homophobic healthcare worker is high, they still have access to clinics meant to be a safe space and a community to provide recommendations. These services are going increasingly online, but have yet to be connected to the communities they could most benefit.

What it does

SafeHealth is a discrete, easy to use app which provides LGBTQ folks a space to review doctors and connect with telehealth professionals who will be ready and willing to properly care for their needs. It serves as a space to have honest conversations about doctors and connect the LGBTQ community with telehealth providers. It looks like a regular old health app. There is nothing particularly overt about it. Where it's genius lies is in the audience it is intended for. I hope that with this app the LGBTQ community will face one less barrier to the care they deserve

How I built it

I really wanted to focus on creating a simple, easy to use interface. I used Figma to develop a prototype and Java to begin the coding process.

Challenges I ran into

I spent most of my time researching. I really wanted to create something that was useful for a community that is often left out of discussions when it comes to healthcare. This left me less time to work on the prototyping and coding, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I think that what I've developed today is one of my favorite projects so far and one that is close to my heart.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I'm really proud of this idea. I think it makes use of so many resources that are out there in a way that is fresh and new. I think that the design is simple and discrete just like I intended. I don't want anyone to be accidently outed from the app, but it also has subtle nodes to the community it is for. The pastel blue, pink and white theme to draws on the trans flag and the pink triangle used for the home button, once a symbol used to oppress LGBTQ people has since been reinvented as a symbol of liberation. I think it beautifully encapsulates exactly what this app is meant to do: take a realm that has traditionally oppressive and turn it into a place where people, ALL people, can find liberation.

What I learned

I've always known that the for LGBTQ people the doctor wasn't a safe place, more so one of fear and anxiety. I never knew, though, that there were so many other people out there that felt the same way. Dozens of studies, thousands of stories show the extent to which this community has been left behind.

What's next for SafeHealth

I would like to see SafeHealth become a fledgling app and to do some trial runs, then go from there. I think that it has enormous potential to help a lot of people, and, regardless of the outcome of this hackathon, it's something I'd like to see through.

Built With

• figma
• java