HackHERHealth Hackathon: wrapping things up!
Hackathon use case
Published on the 30th of April 2024. 5 min read.
First things first: what was the HackHerHealth Hackathon about?
The HackHERHealth Hackathon aimed to bring together students, young professionals, and other individuals around the world to help create solutions to close the health gender gap.
HackHERHealth was a truly collaborative event harnessing the power of industry, academia and the healthcare sector.
The event was organised by Health Innovation West and AstraZeneca with the support of Pristine Agency and hosted by GoCo Health Innovation City and Sahlgrenska Science Park.
The hackathon challenges
The HackHERHealth Tackled Gender Health Challenges with teamwork and innovation
This Femtech Innovation Hackathon brought together participants to attack critical issues in women's health.
Teams formed to focus on specific challenges related to the gender health gap.
Organisers provided them with top-notch resources such as research papers, documents, and software.
Tech and subject-matter experts also mentored the teams, helping them brainstorm and refine their solutions.
The event offered a total of 5 distinct challenges for participants to address.
Challenge 1 - Improving Women’s Journey in Obesity
Obesity in women, influenced by pregnancy and menopause, poses health risks like Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). Solutions in this category aimed to address these challenges through tailored strategies, long-term prevention, and personalised support.
Challenge 2 - Advancing Accessibility & Precision of Diagnosis for Neurodivergent Girls
This category addressed the overlooked symptoms and gender biases in diagnosing neurodivergent girls, particularly those with ASD and ADHD. Innovators were called upon to develop tools for better diagnosis, challenge biases, and create holistic support solutions for these young women.
Challenge 3 - Rethinking and Innovating pregnancy and postpartum care in Sweden
This category was a call to innovate to improve maternal healthcare in Sweden and develop solutions to bridge care gaps, overcome language barriers, and replicate doula support for pregnant and postpartum women.
Challenge 4 - Transforming Healthcare’s Role in Preventing Intimate Partner Violence
This challenge is a fight against Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) through healthcare innovation. Participants were asked to develop tools to recognise and respond to IPV, enhance support networks, and transform lives.
Challenge 5 - Your Pioneering Idea for Closing the Gender Health Gap
In this wildcard category, everyone could participate in addressing gender health disparities with their innovative ideas.
The ideation phase
During the Ideation and Team Formation Warm-up sessions leading up to the HackHERHealth Femtech Innovation Hackathon, participants engaged in live sessions aimed at providing deep insights into the event's goals and challenges.
These sessions, conducted by industry experts, covered diverse topics such as neurodiversity, intimate partner violence, obesity, gestational diabetes, and continuous support during pregnancy.
Participants had the opportunity to explore the context and inspiration behind each challenge, gaining valuable knowledge to craft impactful solutions.
Moreover, matchmaking and team formation sessions facilitated by Pristine Agency, equipped participants with essential skills for building effective teams and leveraging Eventornado efficiently.
These preparatory sessions not only fostered understanding but also encouraged innovative thinking and collaboration among participants, empowering them to develop solutions that could truly make a difference in addressing various healthcare challenges faced by women globally.
The key figures of the HackHERHealth
The hackathon was conducted in a hybrid format.
People could participate physically at GoCo Health Innovation City for day 1 and at Sahlgrenska Science Park, Biotech Center for day 2.
Participants who couldn’t join in person were given the chance to participate virtually on Eventornado.
The hackathon saw impressive engagement and global representation, with 221 registrations spanning 24 countries.
The event kicked off with 29 running teams, reflecting a diverse demographic breakdown, with people participating from almost all continents!
The distribution of teams across challenges was as follows:
Challenge 1: 3 teams
Challenge 2: 8 teams
Challenge 3: 7 teams
Challenge 4: 3 teams
Challenge 5: 8 teams
The hackathon boasted a wealth of expertise and support through our so-called “Healtheroes”.
10 webinar speakers, 6 panellists, 22 mentors, and 8 jury members contributed to the event's success.
The winners!
Out of those 29 participating teams, only 3 emerged as winners of the hackathon!
🥉3rd place
Team: Team without name but with humor
Idea name: Trial Me
Category: 5
Idea description:
In medical research, a gender gap persists in drug testing, with fewer women included in clinical trials due to metabolic differences.
Younger women and pregnant women are often excluded, posing recruitment challenges for researchers.
To address this, an app offers a solution: participants earn incentives for joining trials and undergoing health checks, fostering collaboration with health insurance providers. This streamlined approach facilitates recruitment, advancing medical research while empowering individuals to manage their health effectively.
🥈2nd place
Team: Klöver
Idea name: Klöver
Category: 2
Idea description:
Klöver is a groundbreaking platform revolutionizing the detection and management of mental health issues in children, especially those at risk of ADHD/ADD/ASD, with a focus on girls often overlooked by traditional methods.
Utilizing emotional tracking and analysis, Klöver offers schools:
Early detection of neurodivergent children, particularly girls, prone to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges.
Identification of potential mental health struggles in all students to prevent any child from slipping through the cracks.
Proactive interventions to promote a healthier, more supportive learning environment.
With an emotion-logging tool designed for elementary-aged children, Klöver provides a comprehensive solution:
Empowering children to express and understand their emotions effectively.
Equipping them with mindfulness-based strategies for emotional resilience.
Offering schools insights into class well-being for targeted support.
Providing actionable recommendations to foster inclusive spaces for neurodivergent and mentally vulnerable individuals.
🥇1st place
Team: HerShield
Idea name: HerShield
Category: 4
Idea description:
This innovative app, "HerShield," targets intimate partner violence (IPV), a prevalent issue in Sweden, where 27% of women have experienced IPV, with one-fifth enduring severe or fatal violence.
HerShield aims to break the silence and stigma around reporting abuse by offering a discreet platform for victims to acknowledge, empower, and prevent domestic violence.
Using deep learning-based audio detection, HerShield allows users to activate real-time abuse detection and securely store evidence.
In emergencies, HerShield's emergency mode directly connects users with authorities, potentially preventing fatal outcomes.
The app also includes a "coach" feature providing tailored guidance based on the severity of abuse detected.
By offering a comprehensive solution to address IPV, HerShield has the potential to reduce barriers to seeking help, thereby closing the gender health gap and promoting safer communities.
Conclusion
The HackHERHealth was the result of a truly collaborative effort between all the hackathon partners, getting together for the same goal: closing the gender health gap.
As we celebrate the achievements of the winning teams and reflect on the breadth of ideas presented, it's clear that the impact of HackHERHealth extends far beyond the confines of a two-day event.
The solutions developed have the potential to drive meaningful change, improve access to care, and promote gender equity in healthcare systems worldwide.
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