BetterAge, a startup founded by CITRIS Health affiliate James Firman, has received $2.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of its National Institute on Aging’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
The online platform seeks to improve the quality of life of older adults using personalized guidance and engagement analytics, along with community-based partnerships that strengthen the existing infrastructure of support for seniors. Invested in an evidence-based approach, their findings support individuals with personalized steps to make proactive, healthy decisions on their own terms.
The SBIR funding will allow BetterAge to develop and test their proposed “adult well-being check up,” a digital service that assesses at least 12 dimensions of an older adult’s well-being to create a comprehensive picture and form a plan of action. BetterAge’s work will contribute to a growing network of aging information to identify disparities in access to health services, understand consumer preferences, and make a more effective case for funding key programs and services.
The CITRIS Health team will facilitate the platform’s testing in California.