Le Va CE wins eHealth Award

Dr Monique Faleafa, Chief Executive of Le Va, has scooped an AUT Centre for eHealth innovation leadership award presented in Auckland yesterday.

A prime example of this forward thinking and innovation is the Aunty Dee app – a digital wellbeing tool targeting youth.

Dr Faleafa is delighted to receive the award recognising national leadership in eHealth innovation. 

“On behalf of the amazing young people that helped develop Aunty Dee, and my outstanding team, I’m thrilled and honoured to receive this eHealth innovation award,” says Dr Faleafa.

“While our sole focus is to ignite communities and create change by working collaboratively with partners to improve health outcomes for New Zealanders, it’s great to be recognised by the mental health sector for our innovative approach and commitment to making a positive difference.” 

“We’re already working on Aunty Dee 2.0 for enhanced user experience.”

“This award also gives us a real buzz as we gear up for next month’s launch of LifeKeepers – New Zealand’s new evidence-based national suicide prevention training programme.”

Director of the AUT Centre for eHealth, Associate Professor Duncan Babbage, says the award is recognition for Dr Monique Faleafa’s ability to inspire through forward thinking leadership, innovation and implementation. 

“Monique is a wonderful example of leadership of health innovation that is deeply engaged with end users, imagining through co-design the future with Pasifika and Māori youth and communities, and delivering new ways of achieving health and wellness,” says Associate Professor Babbage.

“As if her work in these priority populations was not enough, the tools and approaches are already being taken up and are providing positive outcomes for people from across the entire New Zealand population. 

“Our panel was unanimous in our selection of Dr Faleafa, and we look forward to many more years of her forward thinking leadership in New Zealand.”

Launched in April 2016, the free Aunty Dee online tool uses structured problem solving based on cognitive behavioural therapy principles, to guide users to work through any concern, brainstorm ideas to find a solution, and write an action plan that can be downloaded or emailed and shared with others. 

Easy to use and accessible on any web-based device, Aunty Dee was developed to be used on-the-go, as and when needed.  It was co-designed with young people, with the tool targeted to appeal to Māori as well as Pasifika (13-25 year-olds), noting the commonality of these cultures in valuing a collective approach. The ‘aunty’ figure stands for any number of caring women to whom youth might turn for advice. 

Although targeting youth, Aunty Dee has also proven popular across the age spectrum, with 48% of users outside the targeted youth demographic.

Over the last 12 months, 61% of users have rated their mood as better after engaging with Aunty Dee. 

Ends

About Aunty Dee:

• Visit www.auntydee.co.nz

About the AUT Centre for eHealth:

• Established in 2014, the centre’s mission is to improve people’s health and wellbeing through implementation of eHealth technology, from research through to delivery.  The centre works with patients, researchers, health service and technology to achieve its goals.
• The Centre confers the eHealth Innovation Leadership Award annually, in recognition of noteworthy leadership in eHealth in New Zealand. 
• The Award is presented the Centre for eHealth’s annual eMental Health Expert Forum. 
• http://ehealth.aut.ac.nz/

Feedback messages received from Aunty Dee users:

• “Thank you so much you guys are hundreds and thousands of rockin’ awesome.”
• “Thanks for helping me it means a lot. I just needed someone to talk to about my problems but that person is    far away from me.”
• “Thank you for helping me to help myself.”
• “Your website is really cool. It helps lay out a logical pathway to solution driven healing and I also think its  design is very clean and cool. It’s easy to understand and it works well. Well done!”
• “The tool is great and I think it should be advertised more.”
• “This is great solution to most young people that I’m working with.”
• “Love the app.”