Please describe your proposed solution.
Problem 1 - Wellbeing resources are not reliable
Instead of using specialized websites most people use general search engines when looking for health information. There are portals that monetize user attention (via ads, sponsorships) under the wellbeing content. Read, GOOP: What a Mess. Some may even contain false medical information that misleads consumers into purchasing "snake oil" medical treatments.
Problem 2 - Health-care today: necessary but not sufficient
Modern medicine waits for a disease to arise before optimizing treatments. The medical system will always need to attend to patients in need of lifesaving treatments. A complementary focus and holistic approach however will improve quality of life.
This excerpt from True Age by Morgan Levine, PhD exemplifies the problem:
‘’Take our health care system’s present approach to diabetes as an example. While many people will have their fasting blood sugar (HbA1c) measured during routine physicals, there is often no discussion about disease prevention until a person is diagnosed with borderline diabetes. Usually, if you are below the cutoff, your doctor will say, “Your blood sugar looks good!” But aside from offering reassurance, physicians should also be actively helping their patients keep their levels as far as possible from the magic lines that differentiate nondiabetic from borderline and diabetic.’’
Problem 3 - More content, less time
Science popularization is on the rise as it has never been before. But, not everyone has time or interest to read medical journals and magazines, listen to 2-3 hour long podcasts, or consume other kinds of science materials.
ADAwell is the platform that tackles these problems. The full vision of ADAwell make all three functions it has to operate:
- Function 1 - Curation & Synthesis (Performing function in this proposal)
- Function 2 - Events & Challenges (Performing in the future)
- Function 3 - Support (Performing in the future)
This proposal is the proof of concept for ADAwell. It aims to implement a part of Function 1 - Curation & Synthesis, and kickstart the ADAwell community and DAO. Other functions will be implemented in the future, with a larger team.
Curation & Synthesis kickstarts the ADAwell platform.
The platform provides curated and synthesized health information in three formats:
- Toolkits are useful, applicable tools (checklists, protocols, tips) that help you optimize your health and wellbeing. (Example: Eye Health Toolkit)
- Education/Health literacy is curated and up-to-date health resources/databases from fields like human biology, anatomy, longevity and geroscience. In this format, we provide up-to-date knowledge that not only can help prevent diseases but to optimize health, and there is always room for improvement when it comes to maximizing our biological health. This curation will be as short as possible giving the main idea with the sources. See some examples from podcastnotes.org, longevity insider
- Community Requests. This format allows the Cardano community to request a curation for a specific topic. The aim is to provide mechanisms for the needed knowledge in real-time to the community.
How do we Curate & Synthesize
- curate materials from trusted sources, bring together, organize and structure in a useful way;
- synthesize documents, combine, summarize, and remove any possible duplications and contradictions;
- update knowledge in the platform constantly;
- validate by an expert or a community of practice.
More about Toolkits
Toolkit’s goals vary from maximizing mental health to helping prevent diseases. Here are some examples:
1 - Preventive Health: Making screenings and treatments a priority, you are taking the necessary steps toward living a healthier life. Of course, you can Google screening and find information about the necessary examinations you need to take. However, as health optimization ADAwell’s number one priority we won’t only provide necessary screening Toolkits but additional Toolkits that will consider more specific situations and provide detailed plans. With Curation and Synthesis>Toolkits>Preventive health you can decide and answer to such questions below:
- Ex: You need to have X screening, but what if you are pregnant atm.
- In X case, an appointment with a doc should be made every X months/days. Ex: you have a gum disease: see your periodontist every X months/days, or do X procedure in X/every X days.
- You have dry eyes, you may have the Sjongren’s syndrome or it’s just caused by long screen times.
2 - How to read labels, keep personal health records, communicate with your doctor, listen to your body signals, etc.
3 - When and How (Protocols) will help you with diet optimization. Tweet related to this.
- Foods to eat/not eat at the same meal. (Why eating fish and dairy together at the same meal is toxic?)
- Cooking techniques. (Why is broccoli subjected to different cooking techniques, and what is the optimal technique?)
- Foods to avoid before/after X event. (Foods to eat/not eat before/after x procedure)
- Glucose management, sugar crash prevention.
- Jessie Inchauspé’s work is a perfect example of this.
- Nutrient/Intestinal absorption (movement of nutrients from the small intestine into the blood supply)
- The best time to take ‘‘X’’ supplement. (Ex: Probiotic Supplement. First thing in the morning, optimal before eating when the gut has been "rested" overnight and there is less gut fermentation going on.)
- Supplement-Supplement interaction. (B1+B12=allergic reaction, or don't combine Vit-D with Vit-C, A, or E; the reason is explained, reliable source is provided)
- Food-Supplement interaction. (Strawberry+iron supplement=increases absorption of iron)
- Food-Food interaction. (Coffee after steak=coffee and other caffeinated drinks can reduce iron absorption.)
- Food-Medication interaction. Prevent/reduce/control side effects of the medicine. (Harmful interactions: alcohol, nicotine, caffeine. Don't smoke cigarettes while you are taking oral contraceptives, or don’t mix alcohol with certain medications)
Community building
ADAwell is designed to be a community driven effort. With this proposal, we start the ADAwell community with a Discord server. We are in contact with wellbeing and medical experts. We will invite these individuals to become members to kickstart the community, share the knowledge we generate in Curation & Synthesis through Twitter, Instagram, and in the Catalyst community to expand the community.
The aim at this stage is to gather like minded individuals with a passion for science communication and wellbeing. From there, we build a core team who wants to be a part of the ADAwell mission and implement the other mentioned functions.
From community to Cardano DAO
ADAwell aims to become a Cardano DAO. The tooling needed for DAOs is lacking at the moment, but is in development. As part of the proposal, we will investigate existing solutions with the help of Littlefish Foundation’s Tech Help Collective, and strategize on how to transform ADAwell into a community driven wellness DAO on Cardano.
Outcomes:
- Implement part of Function 1: ‘‘Curation & Synthesis’’ (Details in plan section)
- Curated Toolkits & Health literacy contents.
- Start the ADAwell wellbeing community on Discord
Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.
Wellbeing is gaining importance as millions around the world are understanding the importance of personal health and wellness. This wave is starting to blossom on the blockchain space as well. VitaDAO and similar initiatives have been in the space for years but they focus on funding scientists, leaving the layperson and their wellbeing needs untended to.
ADAwell aims to fill that void, becoming the destination for wellness in the blockchain space. As the challenge states, not yet existing tools give Cardano a distinct advantage in the DAO space. This applies to not yet existing DAOs as well. Creating a wellness based DAO on Cardano will draw in many wellness professionals, giving Cardano a distinct advantage against competitors in the space.
The proposal will impact these Key Metrics from the challenge:
Number of Communities engaged in collaboration using Cardano DAO creation tools.
- ADAwell will be such a DAO, using Cardano DAO tools to operate in the space
Amount of ADA coming from DAOs transaction fees after the solutions on this challenge get implemented (> than the challenge's allocated fund amount)
- With a thriving wellness based DAO operating out of Cardano, more ADA will be coming through on transaction fees.
Number of DAOs that use Cardano as governance/management chain in 6 months.
- ADAwell will use Cardano as the governance chain and onboard newcomers from other chains through our connections with other wellness based blockchain communities like VitaDAO.
What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?
Risk 1 - Community building around wellbeing can be challenging.
Mitigation - We have an online/offline network of the wellbeing community. We’ll contact people to help us build a community.
Risk 2 - Providing health information means too much responsibility as the work affects people’s health.
Mitigation - We will be providing sources that are trusted. We make sure to give disclaimers and contents with accurate information.
Risk 3 - There can be legal implications of providing content on wellbeing due to inaccuracy of data.
Mitigation - We will study legal implications and act accordingly, referencing reputable sources, asking individuals to consult their doctors on all healthcare topics.