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Pride Study app, developed by University of California at San Francisco and Apple aims to look at the specific health problems of the LGBTQ community
The LGBTQ community will now benefit from a new ResearchKit app titled Pride Study that aims to study the specific health risks the community is exposed to.
Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco in collaboration with Apple understood that it is hard to study the health issues associated with the LGBTQ community at large as usual surveys and medical checks elude specific inclusion in sexual minority groups.
Thus, they set to offer the LGBTQ people the opportunity to aid science and their own community via the anonymity of an iPhone app, Pride Study.
Developed under the framework of ResearchKit, an Apple-backed app developed for the purpose of medical research, Pride Study is poised to become a success story by tapping into the iPhone massive user base.
So far, ResearchKit has already been successfully applied in research connected to cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease or cardiovascular diseases.
Pride Study will provide researchers at the University of California at San Francisco with valuable insight on the health and well-being of the LGBTQ community.
As these minority groups are largely understudied, Pride Study will narrow a scientific gap by surveying self-declared LGBTQ members if they so choose. Health issues, as well as specific risk factors are all factored in for an overarching understanding.
For instance, Pride Study aims to look at smoking, overweight or obesity, as well as mental health conditions, HIV/AIDS occurrence, as well as cancer. Specific data for members of the LGBTQ community are virtually inexistent at the moment as a comprehensive study.
Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco released the Pride Study app on June 27th, the date of the San Francisco Pride Parade rolls on the streets.
So, for those who wish to participate in the study, Pride Study app is just one click away for iPhone users. Upon downloading the app, users will be required to complete an initial 10 to 15 minutes long demographic survey.
Of course, eligibility for Pride Study is also checked thoroughly so that only members of the LGBTQ community may voluntarily participate.
Thanks to the invaluable help of the participants in the Pride Study app, the research team at University of California at San Francisco are hoping for this study to roll throughout early 2016 the latest.
Weekly, the LGBTQ volunteer participants will receive a new questionnaire to be filled so that a complete set of data may be gathered. Following the Pride Study app, the researchers intend to pool a few participants to participate in a long term study.
Both Tim Cook, Apple CEO and Mitchell Lunn, UCSF Pride Study co-director expressed their unabated belief in the potential of the Pride Study app and the openness of the LGBTQ community.
Currently, Pride Study is only made available on iPhone. Further down the road, it is expected that other companies will join the effort of aiding both the LGBTQ community and medical research.
Image Source: americaherald.com
