CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, human data intelligence startup, Strap, and Xavier University announced Project X Health, a pilot rewards program powered by human data that will enable the Xavier community to make healthier life choices. Human data includes physical activity, biometrics, sleep and food data collected by popular wearables and mobile health and fitness tracking applications.
The Project X Health campaign will invite Xavier’s nearly 7,500 Xavier students, faculty and staff to connect and track their human data through their smartphones, health tracking mobile apps, or wearables. Strap’s software integrates human data from participating users, and offers Xavier University powerful analytics from that data to discover insights and trends about the population. Thousands of University members will have an opportunity to participate when the program kicks off this fall.
Ohio is consistently ranked as one of the unhealthiest states in the country. According to a 2015 survey by the United Health Foundation, 30% of adults are obese and 27% live a sedentary lifestyle. Project X Health was founded to change that statistic by tackling population health at the University level.
“Project X Health will help the Xavier community collectively understand our behavior and make decisions that can drive positive change,” said Shawn Nason, Xavier University’s Chief Innovation Officer. “We believe that engaging at this level with our population will enlighten our understanding of our population and help drive outcomes that we can’t possibly understand today. Xavier University is driven by the education of the whole person for each member of the University, and we see a healthy lifestyle as an integral part of what we can offer a student in four years.”
As with any program involving personal data, safety and security of data and privacy of the individual users who participate is a top priority. Project X Health will adhere to strict privacy and security standards and general information will be shared only if users agree to share.
“According to a recent eMarketer survey, 40% of US consumers said they would share data from their wearable devices with retailers or brands in exchange for coupons, discounts, or information,” said Steve Caldwell, Co-Founder and CEO of Strap. “Project X Health will provide both tangible incentives through rewards and information for users so we are expecting a high participation rate.”
Project X Health is the first initiative in a new, larger partnership between Xavier’s Center for Innovation (CFI) and Strap to engage the community in digital programs that support population health. Strap participated in CFI’s inaugural Healthovate! Cincinnati summit this summer. Leaders in the healthcare industry came together to discuss innovative solutions to population health issues. The next CFI Healthovate! is scheduled for Oct. 27 in Nashville.
About Strap
Strap enables actionable human data to inform and improve marketing and engagement programs. We believe the consumer centered journey must be personalized because a more personal world is a better world. Through powerful analytics and segmentation from smartphones, wearables and health data applications, Strap empowers some of the world’s largest brands and retailers, including Mondelez power brand Trident and leading convenience store chain Kum & Go, to securely engage consumers at the right time while building brand loyalty and gaining valuable consumer insights. For more information, visit www.straphq.com, or follow us on Twitter @getstrap.
About Xavier University
Xavier University is a private university located in Cincinnati, Ohio, providing a liberal arts education in the Catholic, Jesuit tradition. Founded in 1831, the university is the sixth-oldest Catholic university in the nation. U.S. News & World Report ranks it No.6 among master’s-level universities in the Midwest and The Princeton Review names it as one of the “Best 377 Colleges in America.”
