JOOL

JOOL is a purpose-driven technology-based solution for promoting well-being, self-transcendence, resilience, energy, and willpower. JOOL helps you discover your life purpose, monitor how well you are aligned with four domains of purpose (personal, family, work, community), and develop the energy and willpower to pursue it.

Controlling for socio-demographic and health factors, people with a strong purpose in life are less likely to develop depression and Alzheimer's disease than people with a weak purpose in life. In the face of natural disasters, illness, and loss of loved ones, they're more likely to find post-traumatic growth than post-traumatic stress. Interventions to strengthen purpose find improvements in well-being, academic performance, and greater acceptance of behavior change and ethnic diversity.

Can we create a "purpose pill?"  JOOL uses longitudinal biometric, environmental, geolocation, temporal, and self-reported data to help users find, and live in alignment with, their purpose in life.

The theoretical approach for JOOL comes from Self-Determination Theory, Values Affirmation Theory, Motivational Interviewing, and the general field of Positive Psychology. Research of these approaches -- ranging from epidemiologic cohort studies, to intervention studies in laboratory and real world settings, to mechanistic studies of neural activation and gene expression -- provides evidence for purpose-focused interventions in health care, school, worksite, and community settings and among ages ranging from teenage to retirees. JOOL has been shown to increase use of preventive health services, reduce depressive symptoms, and improve sense of purpose, vitality, self-control, sleep, presence (mindfulness), activity, creativity, and eating behaviors. 

Target outcomes include well-being related factors: alignment with life purpose, energy (vitality), willpower (self-control), work-life balance, depression and anxiety management, reduced gene expression of pro-inflammatory cells and improved expression of antibody cells, use of preventive health services; health-related behavior change, and self-management of chronic conditions.

These outcomes are highly relevant to our beachhead markets of employers, health plans, and health systems, which benefit from improved engagement, resilience, productivity, health status, and reduced health care costs. They are also highly relevant to our emerging markets that range from college students, to the military, to the elderly.

Measured through the JOOL application, which regularly monitors life purpose and work-life balance. - Example 1: Life purpose alignment and work-life balance.

Measured through biometric (glucose meters, weight scale, step-counter) and self-reported surveys in a Blue Cross-sponsored randomized trial examining the effect of JOOL on the management of metabolic disorder. - Example 2: Management of chronic conditions.

Preventive health visits to the physician measured through claims data of IBM Watson Health employees using JOOL compared to an age-gender matched control group. - Example 3: Use of preventive health services.

• JOOL differentiates analytically in the following: 

  • “n-of-one” precision analytics provides user feedback that gets smarter over time. This is impossible to do through traditional population-based wellness tools.
  • JOOL can integrate with a broad-spectrum of biometrics and apps.
  • JOOL’s analytics partners, including Booz Allen Hamilton, the SAS Institute, and the University of Michigan, provide world-class data science expertise.

  JOOL differentiates conceptually in the following:

  • Intrinsic motivation through focus on core values and life purpose.
  • Relevant daily outcomes, including energy and willpower, and self-selected interests (e.g., chronic pain, relationships).
  • Positive health behaviors, both traditional (sleep, physical activity, diet) and non-traditional (mindfulness, creativity).

JOOL uses a human-centered agile design process involving hundreds of hours of user tests, pilot studies, and use analyses.

A key aspect of JOOL is its user-centered, personal predictive model that allows users to focus on their own chosen interests (e.g., migraines, depressive symptoms, relationships) and the behavioral, environmental, and temporal factors influencing these interests.

Data collected from the user are analyzed to adjust input scaling and determine the content and timing of feedback.

JOOL’s beautiful, interactive,"hero's journey" metaphor fits the existential theme of the application and encourages users to embark on a life-changing journey.

JOOL is deployed in a software-as-a-service, business-to-business model, licensing and distributing the software to employers, health plans, health systems, voluntary organizations (e.g., AARP), universities, the military, and other organizations. Through this model, end-users typically don't pay anything for JOOL.

Within these settings, JOOL has demonstrated high rates of participation, engagement, and efficacy, at a low per-user cost. These factors are critical to large-scale implementation of JOOL and differentiate JOOL from expensive high-touch programs that are limit use and are difficult to scale.

Another direction currently being considered for JOOL is a direct-to-consumer model. 

JOOL Health licenses the JOOL product using a software-as-a-service, business-to-business model to employers (e.g., IBM, Dow), health plans (e.g., United Health Care, WellCare), and health systems (e.g., Trinity Health) as a wellness product. This market -- estimated to be more than $10.5 billion in size -- has provided growing revenue since JOOL was commercially released in August, 2016. The products, business models, and customers in these markets are well understood by JOOL Health. 

In addition, JOOL will soon be licensed to universities (e.g., University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin), seniors (e.g., AARP), the military (e.g., Veterans Administration), and health- and life-coach services (e.g., Canyon Ranch). There is also current consideration of expanding to a direct-to-consumer model.

Funding of the company comes from the founder (Dr. Vic Strecher), from angel investors, and from venture capital. Combined with growing revenue from customers, JOOL Health is financially stable as the business grows. 

Challenges to JOOL Health include the following:

POSITIONING JOOL. JOOL is a disruptive, innovative product within a traditional marketplace. We're working hard to properly position JOOL within our primary markets, the customers within these markets, and the end-user. 

PROMOTING JOOL. Our product has been called an "existential Fitbit" and "purpose in a pocket." The unique technical, scientific, and philosophical focus of JOOL needs to promoted to a broader marketplace.

PROVING JOOL. Outcomes relevant to our customers (e.g., health behavior change and decision-making, health care costs, productivity) are essential. We're collecting these outcomes with real-world customers.

http://www.joolhealth.com/resources/

First, JOOL is committed to improving well-being, purpose, and resilience in the world. Our initial entry in the marketplace has created a sustainable platform for expansion to new populations, from teens to seniors. We'd like to work with SOLVE to promote this expansion.

Second, JOOL is a sophisticated technology platform that will continue to: (a) use data from more sources (e.g., social media, significant others, genomic); (b) use advanced data science to better predict outcomes of relevance to the user; and (c) provide more timely and helpful feedback to the user. We'd like to work with SOLVE on these areas.

Booz Allen Hamilton (data science)

University of Michigan (data science and behavioral sciences)

Harvard University (data science and epidemiological research on purpose in life)

University of Pennsylvania (neuroscience research on purpose in life)

SAS Institute (data science and statistical software)

Health and wellness companies.