Tired of hearing comments about the downside of electronic devices? What about an app that could help you manage your health? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed programming language enabling anyone to create an app on a computer with Internet access. And you don't need a computer programming background. In this science project, you will build a medicine-reminder app. Once you get comfortable with the program, you can build many more apps that facilitate a healthier lifestyle. Only your imagination sets the limit!
Being young and healthy, you might wonder why people would need a reminder to take their medicines. But the truth is many elderly and chronically ill people have several medications to take, each on a different schedule. This is an increasing problem as the population of elderly adults rises in many countries. Data gathered by researchers (see the chapter by Marek and Antle in the Bibliography suggests that inability to take the right medications at the right time and at the right dose is one of the major reasons an elderly person enters a nursing home. Researchers also conclude that improperly taking medications is the cause of a significant percentage of hospitalizations for elderly patients. The medicine box shown in Figure 1 shows how difficult it can be to keep track of all the medications that patients on multiple medications need to take.