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University student develops wellbeing app to support veterans
Urbackup works by connecting users to specialised charities who can provide mental health support
A university student has developed a wellbeing app to help military personnel and veterans who struggle with their mental health.
Savannah Thompson, who studies biomedical sciences at Bournemouth University, built Urbackup after she was medically discharged from the army in 2021.
She won a place on the Virgin Money Foundation Young Change Maker Fellowship for the initial concept of the app and received funding from The Virgin Money Foundation and The National Lottery.
She was able to present her idea to students at Northumbria University who turned her concept into a workable prototype. A local company, called Dorset Tech, has since taken the prototype and developed the app into a commercial product that can now be used by members of the public.
“The concept for the app came from repeatedly hearing the same sorts of stories around people needing support but either not knowing where to go, not wanting to ask for help, or feeling rejected when they have approached charities who weren’t able to help them,” Savannah explains.
“I think a lot of people hear about military mental health and immediately assume we’re discussing combat related PTSD and that does make up a percentage of cases. However, in the same way that civilians can struggle with anxiety and depression, military personnel aren’t exempt from these either.
“It can be related to service, traumas from childhood, the stresses of everyday life, but when it comes to the military, people are expected to put the service first, largely at the expense of their personal lives.”
Urbackup works by connecting its users to linked charities, who are then able to get in touch with the individual who needs help. It has a traffic light system that helps users find the services they require.
It also features a quiz for when the users are unsure about what services they might require and alert messages display the phone numbers of 24/7 crisis lines.
“It is a big change for personnel to transition out of the military and into the civilian world again,” says Savannah, who witnessed colleagues suffering with their own mental health.
“There will be some people who struggle immediately with the change and others who struggle years down the line.
“Some will suffer from service attributed traumas from deployments, while others will leave the service and cope without any need for support.”
Savannah hopes Urbackup would help current and ex-military personnel access mental health services more easily. She says she would like to see more charities join the app and she encourages other countries to adopt similar approaches.
“As part of my fellowship, I was able to travel to America last year where I met with some inspiring organisations, charities and individuals working in the veteran mental health space,” she says.
“I’m currently working on having a US version integrated into the app for use there too.”
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Pregnant women’s expectations about postpartum sleep may predict sleep quality after birth, outweighing prior sleep and psychiatric history, a study suggests.
The findings suggest attitudes and beliefs about sleep during pregnancy could be a modifiable risk factor for postpartum sleep concerns.
They also indicate that, among women expecting the poorest sleep, higher postpartum anxiety may further worsen sleep quality.
Sammy Dhaliwal, lead author is clinical health psychologist and research fellow in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dhaliwal said: “Most pregnant women in our sample anticipated poor postpartum sleep before it occurred, and it was striking that those expectations predicted worse sleep outcomes even after accounting for factors such as prior sleep disorders, psychiatric history, and number of previous births.
“This suggests that attitudes and beliefs about sleep during pregnancy may represent a modifiable target for early intervention before postpartum sleep problems emerge.”
Sleep disturbance affects an estimated 60 to 80 per cent of postpartum women and is linked to a higher risk of depression and anxiety.
Researchers said it is often regarded as an expected part of life after childbirth rather than a health issue that may be addressed earlier.
The study enrolled 432 pregnant women at about 24 weeks of gestation, meaning around 24 weeks into pregnancy.
Participants completed measures of their expectations about postpartum sleep, current sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and mood using validated depression and anxiety scales.
Assessments were repeated at six, 12 and 24 weeks postpartum.
A subset of 49 women also wore wrist actigraphy devices at six to eight weeks postpartum.
Actigraphy uses a wearable device, similar to a watch, to estimate sleep and wake patterns based on movement.
The results showed that 70 per cent of pregnant women, or 301 of 432 participants, expected poor sleep in the postpartum period.
Researchers found that predicted sleep disruption during pregnancy was a significant predictor of postpartum sleep concerns.
Among first-time pregnant women without prior health concerns, those who expected greater sleep disturbance had significantly more disrupted sleep after birth, measured by both actigraphy and self-report.
Among women who expected the worst sleep quality, higher postpartum anxiety significantly worsened both measured sleep and self-reported sleep, independent of anxiety levels during pregnancy.
Dhaliwal said the findings point to two possible areas for intervention: addressing sleep-related beliefs during pregnancy and treating postpartum anxiety.
Dhaliwal said: “Postpartum sleep disruption is often treated only after problems develop, but our findings suggest there may be an opportunity to intervene earlier during pregnancy.
“Addressing sleep-related beliefs and postpartum anxiety during prenatal and postpartum care may help improve sleep and emotional well-being in new mothers.”
A weight loss jab may improve fertility outcomes in women with PMOS, early findings from an ongoing clinical trial suggest.
The proof-of-concept analysis found that injectable semaglutide may offer reproductive benefits while also addressing obesity and metabolic dysfunction.
It is the first report to examine how injectable semaglutide may improve reproductive outcomes in women with PMOS while also addressing obesity and metabolic dysfunction.
The work forms part of the ongoing RESTORE clinical trial.
Melanie Cree, professor at CU Anschutz and first author of the report, said: “Women with PMOS frequently face a frustrating choice between treatments that target reproductive symptoms and those that address metabolic health.
“Our early findings suggest injectable semaglutide may have the potential to improve both, offering a more comprehensive approach to care.
“This medication is incredibly promising when someone responds with 10 per cent weight loss.”
The trial is examining whether semaglutide can restore ovulation and improve reproductive health in adolescents and adults with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, known as PMOS.
PMOS, formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS, is a hormone and metabolic condition linked to irregular periods, raised testosterone levels, infertility risk, obesity and increased cardiometabolic disease.
Cardiometabolic disease refers to conditions linked to the heart and metabolism, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
Existing treatments, including metformin and hormonal contraceptives, often do not fully address reproductive and metabolic complications at the same time.
The analysis focused on participants aged 12 to 35 who lost at least 10 per cent of their body weight during treatment.
Researchers said reproductive improvements appeared earlier than expected, prompting them to report preliminary findings while the wider study continues.
Cree is also a paediatric endocrinologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Endocrinologists are doctors who specialise in hormones and hormone-related conditions.
Cree said: “What makes this work particularly important is that it focuses specifically on women with PMOS receiving injectable semaglutide.
“Although GLP-1 medications have transformed obesity treatment, there remains a significant need for rigorous data examining how these therapies affect fertility and reproductive function in this population.”
The RESTORE study is evaluating semaglutide treatment in girls and women with PMOS and obesity.
Its broader aim is to determine whether weight loss and metabolic improvements can restore ovulation and improve reproductive outcomes.
Ovulation is the release of an egg from the ovary, a key part of the menstrual cycle and fertility.
The authors said the findings are from an early proof-of-concept analysis and that larger, longer-term studies will be needed to confirm whether the reproductive benefits last.
The findings suggest injectable semaglutide may become a treatment option for women with PMOS seeking improvements in both metabolic and reproductive health, if future studies confirm the results.
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