Eliza Corporation Presents Data and Insights about the Health and Financial Impacts of Vulnerability at the Health Experience Design Conference

BOSTON, March 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, at the Health Experience Design (HxD) conference, Eliza Corporation ("Eliza"), the pioneer and recognized leader in Health Engagement Management, will present new data and insights on the hidden drivers of health and healthcare spending, and how well-designed engagement strategies can address them. The presentation titled Vulnerability is an issue like never before…is it treatable? will take place at the Boston Westin Waterfront Hotel, at 1:40 p.m. (ET).

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During the presentation, Alexandra Drane, founder and chief visionary officer of Eliza, will discuss new research on the power of "Vulnerability", as measured by the Unmentionables™ -- life-context conditions like financial stress or caring for an aging parent.  Eliza partnered with Wendy Lynch, Ph.D. and the Altarum Center for Consumer Choice to quantify the impact of these life-context conditions on health and productivity. Results of the data include:

• 36 percent of respondents struggle with at least two Unmentionable conditions
• People dealing with 4 to 5 Unmentionable conditions are over 5x more likely to report bad health
• People are hungry for support -- approximately 80 percent of respondents are willing to accept support for their Unmentionable conditions from a doctor or health plan, as would a similar number from their employer. For those challenged with caring for an aging parent, that rate exceeds 95 percent.

In addition, Drane will highlight unique Business and Behavioral Intelligence based on Eliza's Vulnerability Index™ (VI) which has more than three times the predictive power of a person's self-reported health than traditional health measures.

While the Unmentionables have a clear impact on health and productivity, Eliza's data revealed that there are other issues that can either exacerbate or lessen the impact of the Unmentionables on a person's life - Eliza coined these "buffers" and "magnifiers".  The Vulnerability Index measures the balance of a population's or individual's mix of Unmentionables, and their ability to cope with these conditions. For example, Eliza considers certain factors – like having a strong sense of spirituality or a strong sense of community and network of friends – "buffers" to the stresses of life. These positive coping mechanisms help people see the bigger picture, and are fundamentally restorative.  On the flip side are what can be considered negative coping responses or "magnifiers" – such as losing sleep, feeling depressed, or relying on substance use to get through – that only make things worse and compound the impact of the Unmentionable conditions. 

"We must expand the definition of health to include the life-context conditions that make people vulnerable, because these life-context conditions are preventing people from being their healthiest, most productive, most resilient selves, and as a result they're significantly impacting the healthcare continuum's bottom line – and, most importantly, individuals' lives," states Drane.  "It's a fact: engagement strategies designed to make a human connection and based on an understanding of individuals as whole people in time - not just as temporary patients – have the greatest impact – and as a result, offer the best health and financial outcomes for individuals and the healthcare companies that serve them." 

TWEET:  @ElizaCorp Is Vulnerability treatable?  Behavioral Intelligence + designing #health care to improve outcomes @adrane #HxDconf       

Eliza's Business and Behavioral Intelligence Offerings
Eliza has spent more than a decade engaging people in conversations about their health and has amassed one of the world's largest consumer health data assets of the attitudes, behaviors, and motivations that drive people's health and healthcare decisions.  Eliza's Health Engagement Management programs are offered at different product level tiers (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Professional Services), based on how deeply intelligent data is applied to overall communication strategies.  Eliza has developed a family of proprietary indices that provide insight on healthcare populations and the organizations that serve them.  These predictive instruments include Health Engagement Communication Benchmarks, the Eliza Engagement Index (EEI), and the Vulnerability Index (VI).

About Eliza Corporation
Eliza Corporation ("Eliza") is devoted to making people happier, healthier, and more productive. The pioneer and recognized leader in Health Engagement Management, Eliza draws from more than 800 million interactions with people about their health, and blends business intelligence, technology, and communication expertise to improve care experiences, reduce costs and advance population health. Each program is powered by Eliza's engagement-based analytics and population segmentation, and delivered via our patented speech recognition technology, rich web and multi-modal delivery platform (including automated calls, emails, text messages, mail, social and mobile interactions). These programs consistently yield the best outcomes in the industry in terms of increased engagement, health and wellness measures, and sustainable ROI. Eliza was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Danvers, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.elizacorp.com.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

SOURCE Eliza Corporation