Response to Feedback on Our Palliative Care App Idea

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and the valuable insights! Hearing from individuals directly experiencing this journey is crucial for us, and we would be deeply interested in connecting with your friend for their perspective. Actually, we tried hard to find someone who has experienced palliative care, but we failed. We would be very grateful if you could help us to connect with your friend under the condition that they are willing to share their experience with us.

Regarding your points, we chose to focus on communication as our primary problem domain for several reasons. We understand that while many critical aspects of palliative care are directly linked to health professionals – such as resource availability and medical care – there's a significant gap in supporting the emotional and communicative needs of patients and their families. This gap often stems from the stigma and discomfort surrounding discussions of death and serious illness. By facilitating easier, more meaningful communication, we aim to bridge this gap and provide a platform where these crucial conversations can occur more naturally and supportively for the patent and their loved ones.

Your feedback about providing guidelines for addressing emotional issues rather than focusing solely on data sharing is well-taken. We're exploring ways to integrate emotional support into the app, recognizing the importance of privacy and discretion in such sensitive matters. The idea is not just to encourage journaling or diary entries but to offer a space where patients can express themselves in a manner that feels safe and controlled. Though this is a tricky problem as many patients may simply not have the physical or mental capacity to use the app, we're hoping to find a way to make it accessible to as many people as possible.

We completely agree with the point about creating an app geared toward the patients themselves. While caretakers play a vital role in palliative care, empowering patients to have control over their experience, communication, and emotional expression is equally important. By developing an app that caters specifically to the unique needs of palliative care patients, we hope to contribute positively to their mental and emotional well-being.

Thank you once again for your insightful feedback. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any further thoughts or suggestions!