Aetna Foundation & Health 2.0 Announce the Launch of the “Aetna Foundation Challenge” to Help Health Experts in Obesity F...
June 09 2011 - 4:00PM
Business Wire
The Aetna Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc., in
partnership with Health 2.0 has issued a Developer Challenge to
solicit new interactive browser-based applications designed to make
important federal data about obesity and related data sets more
accessible and usable for health services researchers, public
health officials, policy makers and other leaders in the fight
against obesity. The Aetna Foundation Challenge was announced today
by the foundation’s president, Anne C. Beal, M.D., M.P.H. at the
Health Data Initiative Forum at the Institute of Medicine meeting
in Bethesda, Md.
“As a health services researcher, I understand all too well that
the best health data in the world can’t be used to improve people’s
lives if there aren’t the right tools to make useful analyses of
the data possible,” said Dr. Beal. “Now that the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services is making so much health data available
through its open health data initiative, we want to ensure that our
colleagues, particularly those working to reduce obesity, have
robust applications to help them access that data and use it in
their work to stem this epidemic. We welcome the opportunity to
partner with Health 2.0 in their efforts to spur innovation in
health technology.”
The Aetna Foundation is dedicated to promoting wellness, health,
and access to high-quality health care for everyone and focuses its
grant making on fighting obesity as well as addressing health
disparities and promoting integrated health care.
The Aetna Foundation Challenge aims to drive the creation of
innovative tools that will connect various government data sets,
enable predictive modeling and scenario analysis, transform data
into meaningful visualizations, such as maps, charts and
illustrations, facilitate the creation of presentation slides, and
utilize social media to develop and share information on factors
that can impact obesity.
“The Aetna Foundation Challenge is unique in that it is designed
to specifically provide key stakeholders with the information they
need to better understand the U.S. obesity epidemic,” said Indu
Subaiya, CEO and co-founder of Health 2.0. “We are excited to be
working with the Aetna Foundation on this important project and we
look forward to the development of a range of applications that can
help the foundation fulfill its mission.”
The top prize for the best application will be $25,000 and two
free passes to the Health 2.0 Conference in San Francisco on
September 26 – 27. Second prize will be $15,000, and third prize
will be $10,000. Submitted applications will be judged on their
user-friendliness and interactive capabilities; the quality of
health data integration; creativity and innovation; and potential
for impact. Additional points will be given for including a health
services researcher on the developer team and for incorporating
non-health data sources and data sets that enable analyses at the
individual, zip code or county level.
Judges will include Mark Bertolini, chairman, CEO and president
of Aetna Inc.; Andre Blackman, director, digital communications/new
media at the American Heart Association; and Dr. Beal, among others
to be announced. The submission deadline is August 15, 2011. The
winners will be announced at the Health 2.0 Conference.
The Health 2.0 Developer Challenge was launched on June 2, 2010
at the Community Health Data Initiative (CHDI) meeting at the
Institute of Medicine, with support from the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS). Initiated in March 2010,
the HHS initiative endeavors to ignite innovation using newly
opened government data sets. Since the first Developer Challenge,
Health 2.0 has facilitated more than 20 Developer Challenges and is
currently working on more than 30 new Challenge projects.
About the Aetna Foundation
The Aetna Foundation, Inc. is the independent charitable and
philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Since 1980, Aetna and the Aetna
Foundation have contributed $394 million in grants and
sponsorships, including $15.6 million in 2010. As a national
health foundation, we promote wellness, health, and access to
high-quality health care for everyone. This work is enhanced
by the time and commitment of Aetna employees, who have
volunteered more than 2.3 million hours since 2003.
Our current giving is focused on addressing the
rising rate of adult and childhood obesity in the U.S.;
promoting racial and ethnic equity in health and health care;
and advancing integrated health care. For more information, visit
www.AetnaFoundation.org.
About Health 2.0
Health 2.0--The conference. The media network. The Innovation
Community. The Health 2.0 Conference is the leading showcase of
cutting-edge technologies in health care, including Online
Communities, Search and lightweight Tools for consumers to manage
their health and connect to providers online. The Health 2.0
Developer Challenge is a series of prize competitions promoting
health technology innovation. Health 2.0 also has its own media
channels, Health 2.0 News and Health 2.0 TV; its own market
intelligence service, Health 2.0 Advisors; and also sponsors the
Health 2.0 Accelerator industry consortium. Health 2.0 was founded
by Indu Subaiya & Matthew Holt in 2007 and is now a community
of hundreds of organizations and thousands of innovators. For more
information, see www.health2con.com.
Aetna (NYSE:AET)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024
Aetna (NYSE:AET)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2023 to Jun 2024