Wisdo Health is now being offered to Colorado residents to address social isolation and loneliness and positively impact health outcomes and costs.
New York, March 6th, 2023 – Peer Assistance Services (PAS) announced today the deployment of Wisdo Health’s evidence-based peer support and social health platform to adults in Colorado, with particular emphasis on Medicaid members.
Recent studies from Cigna and the AARP show that 58% of adults and 40% of seniors are impacted by loneliness and social isolation. Loneliness rates are even higher among Medicaid members (72%), younger populations, and underrepresented populations such as Hispanics (78% impacted by loneliness) and Blacks (68% impacted by loneliness).
Loneliness is associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide and is as lethal as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. Studies show that social isolation significantly increases a person’s risk of premature death and is associated with a 50% increased risk of dementia, a 29% increased risk of heart disease, and a 32% increased risk of stroke.
PAS conducted a pilot of the Wisdo platform in 2022 and found that within 90 days, participants reported:
- 18% reduction in loneliness rates; 23% no longer meeting clinical criteria for loneliness
- 22% reduction in the number of mentally and physically unhealthy days experienced by participants.
- 23% reduction in anxiety
- 19% reduction in consumption of alcohol
- 86% retention rate on the Wisdo app at month 3
- 31% success rate in navigating at-risk users to behavioral health resources
- 88% would recommend Wisdo to others
Elizabeth Pace, PAS CEO, shared, “After the very strong results we saw in our pilot program with Wisdo Health, including in reducing anxiety, depression, and alcohol use, we are looking forward to broadening access to more Coloradans and driving significant positive changes in their health and quality of life.”
As part of this initiative, PAS will work with community organizations and health plan providers in Colorado to recruit participants and embed Wisdo into their workflow.
The Wisdo platform addresses the harmful and costly consequences of loneliness, social isolation, and low engagement rates on health outcomes and costs. The platform uses AI to map out each user’s obstacles to health and then proactively provides matches to trained peers who’ve been in their shoes and provide emotional support, access to weekly group coaching sessions to build social skills and, when needed, conduct warm hand-offs to covered clinical and social determinants of health programs. Since its launch in 2018, over 500,000 members ages 18-80 have joined Wisdo.
Wisdo’s Chief Strategy Officer, Ron Goldman, added: “We are thrilled to build upon the successful results of the pilot by continuing to harness the power of peer support and social health to address the devastating consequences of loneliness and low engagement levels on the health and lives of Coloradans.”
Colorado organizations interested in learning more and joining this initiative should contact Ellen Velez at evelez@peerassistanceservices.org.
About Peer Assistance Services:
Peer Assistance Services, Inc. (PAS) is a Colorado non-profit dedicated to the prevention and intervention for substance use and mental health concerns.
About Wisdo Health:
Wisdo is an evidence-based peer support and social health platform designed to address the harmful consequences of loneliness, social isolation, and lack of engagement on health outcomes and costs. To date, over 500,000 adults have joined Wisdo. Learn more at www.wisdo.com
