Mental Health Wellness Through Tech

Azran Osman Rani at the Naluri Office in Kuala Lumpur

The majority of people living with mental health problems in low-and middle-income countries do not get adequate treatment and with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic increasing challenges multi-fold, mental health needs to be prioritised, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

People with mental health conditions are at a higher risk of dying prematurely, while depression is one of the most common mental health illnesses and one of the leading causes of disability. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds, according to the WHO.

With these disturbing statistics, it is no wonder that health and wellness apps are on the rise. The health and medical industry has been named as one of the top three fields to accelerate the growth of mobile devices, according to a study by Statistica.

The Statistica study also says that mobile health applications have the ability to improve the overall healthcare system by improving efficiency, communication, costs, and quality of healthcare services.

Mobile health is the practice of the utilisation of smartphones for maintaining and keeping track of one’s health and wellbeing. The global mobile health apps market size was valued at USD 40.05 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.7% from 2021 to 2028, according to a market analysis report by Grand View Research.

In Malaysia, one such mobile health provider making waves is Naluri, a digital care provider. It is a clinically validated therapeutic intervention that aligns users’ health goals with a suite of digital transformation tools and an entire team of professional coaches to help them achieve their healthiest and best self.

Whether a person’s goal is to manage a chronic health condition like diabetes, heart disease, or hypertension, receive psychological support for cancer, improve overall health and wellness, or boost performance at work, Naluri has various mental health, counselling, dietary, fitness and even financial planning coaches at their user’s disposal.

In addition to one-on-one consultations is Naluri’s digital health coaching offering, which is administered through the Naluri app.

“Naluri’s digital application provides access to health coaching that combines much needed, but often neglected, psychological support with disease and lifestyle management,” says Azran Osman-Rani, co-founder and CEO of Naluri, and former Air Asia X CEO.

“Naluri’s digital health coaching programme gives every participant or member access to a team of health and well-being experts, including the same clinical psychologists and counsellors, as well as dietitians, fitness coaches, pharmacists, medical advisors, career coaches and financial planners, who coordinate their approach and offer support and structured coaching. Only this time, the mode of communication is primarily asynchronous chat that makes more frequent check-ins with the coaching team possible, without the hassle of making an appointment,” says Azran.

The Naluri coaches involved are clinical psychologists and counsellors whose time can be reserved through the website, much like a more traditional teleconsultation platform. 

He adds that cost-wise, month-long access to this programme is comparable to a single in-person counselling session, which is highly competitive. The cost-savings are even more significant with quarterly or annual subscriptions.

“In this way, Naluri is able to deliver holistic, coordinated care to individuals that take into consideration their health risk factors, family history, personal circumstances, and, most importantly, their individual health goals. It also ensures that help, particularly for mental health, is far more accessible and affordable for everyone,” he says.

Since its inception, Naluri has been primarily a B2B2C company, working with leading corporates in the region to offer services in the form of Employee Assistance Programmes or Chronic Disease Management Programmes to serve employees across various industries.

Employers see value in keeping their teams healthy to improve productivity and engagement, while reducing health care expenditure, and are most impressed by the coordinated approach of our programmes that consider mental and physical health holistically, as well as the one-stop reporting that forms part of our corporate offering. 

“By working with employers, we’ve been able to offer our services to people who might not otherwise have been able to afford the care, while also empowering our coaching team to reach more people. As you probably know, when it comes to mental health, the number of psychiatrists in Malaysia falls far short of the WHO’s recommendations. Through AI-assistance, our digital solution is able to reach more people.”

In addition to the digital coaching programme, Naluri also offers everyone free crisis counselling around the clock via phone. They recently added WhatsApp functionality too which will also be 24/7 in November (It is currently available 9am-9pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays).

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