How much time do you spend in green?

A green environment is good for you. Many studies have shown that both physical and mental health and wellbeing benefit when we spend time in nature. But how much time is optimal? Marta Pahissa is responsible at DKV Seguros for the development of a tool that can measure contact with nature. In this interview, she talks about the innovative digital solution Nature Dose.

Hello Marta, you work for DKV Seguros in Barcelona. What are you responsible for?

I work in the Strategy, Transformation and Technology Division as an environmental transformation technician to help evolve our services, considering the environmental context. Environmentally related diseases are on the rise and place a heavy burden on the healthcare system. We are developing innovation opportunities that respond to this. In doing so, we strengthen our healthcare business and fulfil the changing needs of the insured.

Can you please give an example?

In 2022, we selected those exposome territories (the environmental influences you are exposed to throughout your life) in which we can offer our customers concrete solutions. Adding the planetary health perspective, it was a complex process that was both scientifically and commercially sound. To give one example: a recent study shows that reducing air pollution to the level of the least polluted 25 percent of places in Belgium would have saved €43 million a year in doctor visits and hospitalizations.

As a health insurer, it would be unrealistic to believe that we can change air pollution in Spanish cities. But we can help improve the quality of indoor air of our insured, which has an impact on their health and well-being.

We have therefore, selected several exposome territories – such as indoor pollution or nature exposure – around which develop services and solutions to help promote the health of our customers. Next to traditional environmental concerns, it has business sense: to (1) help commercial differentiation among health insurance commoditized market and to (2) help contain the claims ratio in our portfolio through environmental health promotion solutions.

How did you get the idea for Nature Dose? What inspired you?

At some point, we have all experienced that spending time in nature “felt good”. But also, because of my training as environment scientist, I knew that it has long been scientifically proven that contact with nature has positive physical effects. It's estimated that up to 43,000 deaths a year could be prevented if European cities followed WHO recommendations on access to green spaces. Spending time in nature affects our health, wellbeing and quality of life. The effects range from a lower blood pressure and reduced stress levels to a stronger immune system. It can reduce anxiety and insomnia, improve cognitive performance, lead to less obesity and reduce cardiovascular disease. Green spaces are also associated with metabolic benefits, among other physiological and psychological benefits.

But next to my expertise in environment and health, I constantly work with innovation, IT, design, and digital health colleagues at DKV Seguros and learn about health apps, personalized data, behavioral science… That’s how I connected the dots! I strongly believe that the best ideas are at the boundaries between disciplines and collective intelligence is key for success. The team developing Nature Dose is a perfect example of humble collaboration capable of creating synergies between departments, a startup and a scientific research center with a small budget.

What does the Nature Dose digital solution do?

Nature Dose is an engaging digital health solution that helps measure and increase daily contact with nature. Like a pedometer, Nature Dose counts the minutes the user spends in green. Nowadays, the scientific evidence says that spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with above mentioned benefits in health and wellbeing. So, we help our policyholders measure if they reach this recommended weekly goal. Also, users have another indicator measuring a percentage merging nature external dose and nature indoor dose, which refers to the greenery at home or in the office.

Using satellite imagery of vegetation (NDVI), GIS data of natural parks, questionnaires, user geolocation and scientifically based algorithms, the app provides daily and personalized data and tells user when the recommended weekly dose is reached. The digital solution is embedded in our eHealth app (Quierocuidarme Más) to help build a new healthy habit through personalized and useful data and recommendations.

How does Nature Dose work?

Approximately every 15 minutes, Nature Dose identifies the location and therefore the vegetation that the user is walking through. Every new season, we also ask users about the characteristics of their indoor spaces to calculate how much greenery surrounds them in their lives. We use all this data to create the dynamic Nature Dose indicators. The data is processed overnight, and the results are available the next day.

The app also has other functionalities: calendar to visualize progress and record data, trends, comparison with other users. And suggestions to help users increase their dose of nature, whether indoors or outdoors. Nature Dose is also linked to more than 100 natural itineraries, curated content and special discounts in our marketplace. The data management meets of course all privacy and storage requirements.

What is the response? What are you currently working on?

It was launched on 5 June 2023. Almost a year later, in May 2024, we are pleased to report that it has been used by more than 13,000 policyholders. We are satisfied with the figures. As this is an innovative solution, it takes time to build trust and perceived value.

Now the app is being optimized: we have just reduced battery consumption due geolocation. We are also currently working on developing ways of engaging with customers. Last January users received a personalized wrap-up of their time in green in 2023, and this summer a challenge to reach weekly goals is launched. We are also focused on identifying the business impact of this solution in our customers to assess whether it makes sense to evolve and/or iterate the idea.

Marta, thank you for the interview!

Interview: Annette Althaus