Baya & Bernales 1

Baya, Nazyl Mae S.

Bernales, Shiera Mae
STEM 12 - Lysithea
21 March 2022

“Academic Text Evaluation on HeroIn: An Assistive Medical Android Application for

Common Diseases and Injuries”
The increasing popularity of smartphones has prompted the creation of mobile
applications that are utilized in daily life for a variety of purposes involving communication
and entertainment. However, people’s idealization of multiple options for the aforementioned
via online signifies countless existing applications dedicated to social and leisure aspects of
life. Although applications with supplementary features receive inadequate attention, in
comparison, they can be used as inspiration in the development of mobile applications. This
opens up the prospects of developing novel applications with unique functions; one of which
is an application that offers hospital or first-aid referrals, such as HeroIn. HeroIn is an
assistive medical android application developed by a group of Grade 12 students from
Philippine Science High School Western Visayas Campus, namely: Marielle Montero, Kate
Baldonado, Colin Cruz, Eisen Briones and Aris Larroder. The research study aims to create
an offline android application that provides users basic first-aid instructions and hospital
information and referrals about certain diseases and injuries through input of symptoms. That
being said, HeroIn is an exceptional medical assistive application in consideration of
convenience and easy accessibility to users in catering remote places in the Philippines that
lack phone reception, though with limited selection of diseases and scope of location.
People have always had a plethora of applications for communication and
entertainment to choose from; however, these researchers wanted to create an application that
is often overlooked by many people. One of which is an application that caters to various
diseases and injuries. The idea behind the development of the application HeroIn originated
with a simple solicitude towards the Filipino citizens when accommodating different diseases
and injuries. The researchers ought to develop a software application that would provide
utmost convenience for Filipino smartphone users that are not feeling well or are injured to
have immediate access to helpful information regarding the implications of illnesses and
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injuries. The application will also have other features, including: deducing possible diseases
and injuries, have access to suggestions on what to do next depending on the urgency of the
situation, provide first aid information, and recommend various hospitals that may have
special facilities for the disorder, users can then select a hospital to visit for diagnosis and
treatment and the application will provide the hospital's contact information. The study,
therefore, aims to create a mobile application that would be useful for Filipino smartphone
users who are ill or injured. This prompted the development of the application known as
HeroIn, an assistive medical android application for common diseases and injuries.
HeroIn is an offline android application that is designed to provide Filipino
smartphone users with convenience and immediate access to information with regards to the
implications of illness and injuries. The conceptualized name “HeroIn” emanates from the
expression “doctor, or hero, is in” that is meant to symbolize a patient being addressed by the
doctor. The main objectives of the research project are to direct users to appropriate hospitals
in Iloilo City and provide the location and contact information for proper diagnosis and
treatment based on inputted disease symptoms. Second function is to provide users first-aid
information for common injuries. The application presents selective lists of common injuries,
each of which include a set of instructions that will be displayed once selected. The
application was laid out using the MIT App Inventor online editor thus some of its features
will be limited. Furthermore, there have been countless existing online diagnostics that have
been recognized by modern society and the most common is WebMD which is used as a
guide for the development of the study’s proposed mobile application HeroIn. Its
functionality is similar to the website but it enhances the accessibility through programming
an offline software application. That being said, HeroIn is an exceptional application in
consideration of convenience and easy accessibility to users in catering remote places in the
Philippines that lack phone reception. However, there are a few minor setbacks along with
the application.
First is the application’s name “HeroIn”. The name “HeroIn”, as people perceive it, is
often associated with the illegal drug heroin. Heroin, also known as diamorphine, is an illegal
substance in the opioid class. It is highly addictive and people who use it can become
dependent and experience cravings. Initial effects include feelings of wellbeing and relief
from physical pain (BetterHealth, n.d.). With a 130-year history, heroin is one of the most
 Baya & Bernales 1

well-established pharmaceuticals. Heroin is sometimes used as a maintenance treatment for

opiate addiction in British medicine, but it is also commonly used in clinical practice to treat
a variety of other medical disorders (Gossop et. al., n.d.). Although heroin is used for medical
purposes, there are some people that use them for other personal, non-medical motives.
People might confuse the application’s name "HeroIn" as an illegal drug, so, to avoid any
further complications, it is likely that the application's proposed name should be reconsidered
and changed to something more appropriate. This is merely hypothetical and speculative, not
mandatory as heroin could also mean a “female who is noted for her courage” (Your
Dictionary, n.d.).
Moreover, the application, as stated in the paper, is limited to a number of diseases
only. These are specified according to the common diseases that frequently occur in the
Philippines. Information on common diseases along with their corresponding symptoms were
gathered from the public website by Philippine Department of Health, which includes: heart
disease, vascular disease, pneumonia, malignant neoplasms/cancers, all forms of
tuberculosis, accidents, COPD and allied conditions, diabetes mellitus, nephritis/nephritic
syndrome, and other respiratory system diseases. Six of these diseases are noncommunicable,
and four are major NCDs such as CVD, cancer, COPD, and diabetes mellitus. In addition,
first-aid information is included in the programming of the application and was acquired
from the Philippine Red Cross - Iloilo Chapter website as well as from the website of the
Department of Health. The information includes basic first-aid dos and don’ts when dealing
with common injuries. Furthermore, the information, including contact numbers and
locations, to various hospitals is included in the application as well. These were supposedly
gathered from the hospital institutions themselves along with their permission for it to be
included in the application, but because of the institution’s unresponsiveness, the information
was obtained from the hospitals’ public websites.
Once again, the scope does not include all existing diseases, but rather those that are
common in the Philippines only. Not only does the application limit itself to a number of
diseases, but also to the scope of location it covers. According to the researchers in a
comparison with the WebMD application: “WebMD refers users to hospitals in the United
States while HeroIn refers users to hospitals in Iloilo City.” Therefore, users outside the area
can not maximize the propensity of the application’s hospital referral as it covers only in
 Baya & Bernales 1

Iloilo City. Furthermore, the application is only accessible to android since the MIT App
Inventor in the time period of the research in 2018 is under development in running
operations to IOS devices. It finished and released the update enabling users to work in a
mixed device environment in March 2021 (Patton, 2021). Nevertheless, HeroIn is still a
handy app for providing Filipino users, and others residing in the Philippines, information
and first-aid instructions for common diseases and injuries.
With regard to the research paper, the report is divided into seven sections,
particularly: introduction, methods, results, discussion, summary, conclusion, and
recommendations. The introduction discusses the researchers’ intentions taking all
consideration of the current trends and necessities of the public; that is, creating an offline
assistive medical application HeroIn. Influence of existing websites as a basis for the novel
application was also discussed. The researchers also mentioned that the conduct of the
research may initiate similar studies, specifically those with further improvement in design.
This is intended to give admonition to potential readers.
Other than that, the method section presents all data and tools that were utilized in the
development of the application, including: organization and gathering information of
common diseases and injuries as well as hospitals and first-aid instructions, application’s
program structure design, and functionality assessment of each part such as symptom
checker. Utilization of statistical tools for efficient project management is also found in the
paper, which are Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path
Method (CPM) through tables and concept charts. It is conventional on the inclusion of these
statistical tools to potentially reduce the duration interval and productivity improvement of
the researchers in gathering information. A CPM and PERT must have a complete
framework. It consists of an illustration of a network connecting all the tasks, assigned
estimated time and cost, and computation of the critical path (Darshan Danda, 2020).
However, the CPM section of the paper is unclear. It would be ideal to take into
consideration the reader's first encounter with the organization tool through brief introduction
of symbol legends of the concept and expounding details of figures shown from CPM.
Furthermore, the results and discussion section analyzes the overall performance of
the application, such as allowing user identification of symptoms from lists of common
diseases to impart first-aid details, contact information and location of suggested hospitals. A
 Baya & Bernales 1

comparison to another assistive medical application known as WebMD was included in the
paper as well. However, it would be ideal if another medical assistive application was
included. Upon research, there have been other applications that offer similar use as of
HeroIn, one of which is Getmeds Philippines. Getmeds Philippines is an online android
application that allows users to buy all types of medicines and healthcare products online. It
also provides an e-consultation with a doctor for users who need urgent medical information.
Getmeds Philippines is primarily made for easy purchasing of medicines, vitamins, and many
more for Filipinos and others residing in the Philippines.
 Baya & Bernales 1

The application was offered and developed by Getmeds, an FDA-licensed

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing company, and was released on December 9, 2020; last update
was on Mar 8, 2022. Along with the application, several claims and features are mentioned,
these are: users can access online consultation from a doctor anywhere and anytime, and
users may order medicines as well as healthcare and personal care products with the
application. Products ordered are then delivered to the address given. With Getmeds, refilling
medicines on a month-on-month basis is now made convenient for chronic patients. Simply
select the refills option at checkout when placing an order and the Pharmacists behind the
application will refill the medicines. Additionally, the application offers a 20% off discount
to senior citizens and PWD for hassle-free purchasing of medicines. According to the source
(n.d.), “to place an order, simply upload your doctor slip or choose from 10k pharmacy
products or call us at 9190769105. Our expert pharmacists will take care of the rest.”
Moreover, GetMeds has over 50,000 downloads having 4.3 stars, rated by a total of 1,319
users, in Google Play Store.
Another application similar to HeroIn and GetMeds Philippines is HealthNow.
HealthNow is an all-in-one healthcare application with a range of features that address the
user’s primary care needs. With the HealthNow, users may conveniently order over-the-
counter and prescription medicines, vitamins, supplements, and first-aid items. Just like
GetMeds Philippines, HealthNow allows users to consult a doctor online and get an e-
prescription. Users may also book clinic and lab appointments. The HealthNow application is
 Baya & Bernales 1

offered by 917 Ventures, a Business Management Consultant owned by Globe Telecom and
is based in Taguig City. The application was released on July 26, 2020; last update was on
March 15, 2022. HealthNow has over 500,000 downloads having 3.4 stars, rated by a total of
2,739 users, in Google Play Store.
 Baya & Bernales 1

Other than that, the structural design section of the paper shows the graphic flow of
events of the application as well as how the system works through descriptive analysis of the
different screen point of views following a logical order. In the selection of graphics, it is
commendable that the researchers considered the choice of color scheme display to be used
in the application. It is believed that the color green is healthy for the eyes as it is the easiest
for the retina to perceive (Ameritas, 2017). Color green not only can absorb harmful UV rays
of strong light, but also reduce glare thus eliminating fatigue of eyes and anxiety (Neelam
Publication, 2020). Blue, and other colors, were not included since it causes eye strain due to
short wavelength and concentrated energy (Helmer, 2020).
Last but not the least, the summary, conclusion and recommendation section. This
portion explains the general outlook and proficiency of the application HeroIn. However, the
summary was unnecessary to include in the section of the paper since it has the same thought
with the conclusion. That being said, the contents were repetitive: stating the application’s
specification, purpose, significance and manual instructions. It is preferable to remove the
summary and arrange the points made to the conclusion. A complete and ideal research
structure does include summarization on the discussion portion but it is often labeled as
conclusion. It dictates the significance of the results and addresses directions for future
research (Gilman, 2018). Moreover, the recommendations were thoroughly determined to
aim for the things that the researchers have not done for the application. It mentioned a
variety of suggestions such as the improvement of the programming, more detailed pages,
 Baya & Bernales 1

gathering of well-grounded information to rely more on primary sources and to broaden the
scope.
In conclusion, HeroIn is a remarkable software application that serves its purpose that
provides assistance to potential users that need immediate access to information about certain
diseases and injuries. Predominantly, all key information is supplemented within the paper;
however, the research structure must be taken into consideration in aiming for a clear flow of
ideas in complete apprehension for the readers. Language-wise, the speech style used is easy
to comprehend without subverting the degree of formality. Hence, researchers’ ideas and
concepts are laid out well throughout the paper.
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