Sleep disorders represent a major yet often overlooked public health challenge. Despite their strong association with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cognitive decline, and mental health conditions, they frequently remain undetected for years. This diagnostic gap is especially pronounced among older adults, who experience a higher prevalence of sleep-related conditions but face additional barriers such as limited access to information, reduced awareness of symptoms, and low digital literacy.
As digital tools increasingly support early detection and self-management of sleep disorders, these barriers create a widening digital divide – leaving many older individuals without the knowledge or resources they need to recognise early signs or seek timely care.
Addressing this divide is essential not only for improving individual wellbeing but also for reducing the broader healthcare burden associated with untreated sleep disorders, including higher healthcare utilisation, increased medication use, and loss of functional independence. Education in sleep medicine and digital health plays a critical role in strengthening prevention and early identification by providing individuals and communities with the skills and tools needed to recognise risks and engage with appropriate interventions.
The eSleep_dHealth project invited students to design innovative digital and community-based concepts aimed at closing the digital divide and improving outcomes for older adults. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, user-centred design, and a focus on real-world needs, student teams developed solutions that enhance accessibility, raise awareness, and promote earlier detection of sleep disorders among older populations. The solutions presented below demonstrate how thoughtful innovation can support healthier ageing and contribute to more inclusive models of digital healthcare.
To develop these solutions, students followed a Design Thinking approach, combining structured creativity with user-centric problem solving. Their training included interviews, field research, and direct collaboration with older adults, allowing them to better understand real needs, barriers, and daily experiences related to sleep health. This hands-on process helped students practise essential real-world skills while also contributing to the improvement of digital literacy among the wider population. By actively involving the elderly in the co-creation process, the project fostered intergenerational learning, strengthened inclusion and diversity, and ensured that each idea was grounded in the perspectives of the people it aims to serve.
As part of the First Learning Expedition, student teams developed a series of digital health solutions designed to support older adults living with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The challenge focused on individuals who struggle to remain consistent with their Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy, a treatment that is highly effective yet frequently discontinued. Many older users experience discomfort, low motivation, limited guidance, and a lack of ongoing support, all of which contribute to poor adherence and reduced wellbeing.
The following student-developed concepts aimed to address these barriers and make CPAP therapy more accessible, motivating, and sustainable for older adults.
- My CPAP Buddy
My CPAP Buddy is a simple and supportive digital solution which offers an intuitive interface tailored to older users, combining social support, personalised advice, and basic sleep-tracking features. The goal is to help users find answers easily, feel connected rather than isolated, and stay motivated to continue their treatment.
By easing frustration and building users’ confidence, the solution is expected to support more consistent long-term use of CPAP therapy. As adherence improves, many older adults may experience better sleep, greater energy throughout the day, and an overall improvement in wellbeing. More broadly, My CPAP Buddy illustrates how user-centred digital tools can expand access to supportive sleep care.
- nApp
The team addressed this challenge by creating nApp, a simple and personalised mobile app intended to help OSA patients stay engaged throughout their treatment. The app is tailored to individuals who feel frustrated or worried about their therapy and need accessible guidance. Its core purpose is to offer motivation and support in a way that fits naturally into users’ daily routines, making it especially suitable for older adults who benefit from clear, easy-to-use digital solutions.
nApp is expected to help users maintain steadier treatment habits, limit early drop-off, and build healthier routines around CPAP use. By giving older adults timely support and reducing motivational barriers, the solution can improve users’ everyday comfort and contribute to a more supportive digital environment for managing sleep apnea.
- Sleep Buddy
Sleep Buddy is a platform that connects CPAP users with trained peers who can offer emotional support, practical advice, and shared experience. The idea focuses on pairing individuals who face similar worries and adjusting support to their daily needs. By emphasising real-life guidance rather than device-only solutions, the platform aims to make therapy more manageable for users who benefit from personal encouragement and simple, human-centred communication.
The platform’s impact lies in its ability to improve adherence through meaningful human connection. By reducing isolation and addressing psychological barriers, Sleep Buddy can help older adults navigate treatment more confidently and maintain steadier progress. In doing so, it fosters a more empathetic and inclusive form of digital healthcare for people living with sleep apnea.
- CPAPi
CPAPi is a companion app integrated with CPAP devices that provides real-time, personalised support. The solution delivers tailored reminders, facilitates direct communication with clinicians through a messaging feature, and uses AI to detect early signs of treatment issues or declining engagement. These features make the experience more accessible and manageable for older adults, who benefit from clear guidance and simplified digital tools.
Through its blend of clinical insight and adaptive support, CPAPi aims to help older users feel more secure in their therapy and reduce the risks that come with inconsistent CPAP use. Strengthened confidence, improved adherence, and earlier identification of issues can together enhance health outcomes and create a more responsive digital pathway for managing sleep apnea.
- SleepRace
SleepRace is an application that helps users track their CPAP usage and stay motivated throughout the early stages of treatment. By offering simple monitoring features and encouragement to continue therapy, the app aims to make the experience more manageable for users who need additional support. Its straightforward, user-friendly approach is well suited to older adults who benefit from clear feedback and easy-to-use digital tools.
SleepRace is expected to encourage more stable therapy habits by helping users visualise their progress and stay engaged during the crucial first phase of CPAP use. By supporting confidence and establishing routine, the solution can contribute to sustained wellbeing and more effective long-term treatment for older adults. In this way, SleepRace adds accessible motivation to the digital landscape of sleep health.
- CPApp
The app is a digital support tool designed to enhance long-term adherence to CPAP therapy for individuals with sleep-disordered breathing. It enables users to track their nightly therapy progress, monitor improvements in sleep quality, and identify patterns affecting compliance. The app includes an anonymous peer-support community, allowing users to share experiences and tips, fostering motivation and engagement. Automated reminders prompt regular check-ups and therapy adjustments, while an integrated support section with FAQs provides practical guidance on common issues. Overall, the app combines tracking, social support, and educational resources to help users maintain consistent and effective CPAP use.
As part of the Second Learning Expedition, student teams focused on developing digital health solutions aimed at raising awareness about sleep disorders. The challenge addressed a critical public health issue: an estimated 90% of people with sleep apnea are unaware that they have the condition, and many other sleep disorders similarly go undetected. Limited recognition of symptoms, low health literacy, and the absence of accessible screening tools all contribute to delayed diagnosis and untreated illness.
The following student-developed concepts seek to improve awareness, promote earlier identification, and support individuals in understanding when professional evaluation may be needed.
- Breath Ambassadors
Breath Ambassadors is a community-based awareness initiative designed to help older adults, especially those in remote areas with limited digital skills, recognise the signs of OSA. Many older individuals attribute symptoms to normal aging, leaving the condition undiagnosed and untreated. The solution creates a nationwide network of trained ambassadors who have personally overcome OSA and share their stories through local touchpoints such as GPs, pharmacists, community events, and media channels. Digital elements, including short testimonial videos, a central website, and self-assessment questionnaires, further extend the initiative’s reach.
By presenting information through trusted community figures and simple digital tools, Breath Ambassadors aims to narrow the awareness gap and prompt earlier health-seeking behaviour. The initiative can help reduce the number of undiagnosed OSA cases by making recognition of symptoms more intuitive and approachable for older adults.
- Smart Sleep Sensing
Smart Sleep Sensing is a non-wearable solution that combines a smart alarm clock with a microphone, infrared and thermal cameras, and a mattress sensor to monitor sleep patterns without direct contact. By analysing these signals through machine-learning methods, Smart Sleep Sensing offers a more accessible way for older adults to become aware of possible sleep issues.
Its impact lies in offering a practical alternative for users who cannot or do not want to rely on wearable devices. By lowering physical discomfort and simplifying the monitoring process, Smart Sleep Sensing can help older adults gain clearer insight into their sleep quality and pursue medical support with greater confidence.
- More Than Just Snoring
More Than Just Snoring is a public awareness campaign that combines media outreach with community-based engagement, using radio, TV, newspaper ads and interactive booths in malls, public spaces and community centres. These booths offer quick risk questionnaires, basic health checks, and referral information, while storytelling walls and short patient narratives make the condition easier to understand. The approach is particularly suitable for older adults, who often rely on clear, relatable information and may not recognise their symptoms as signs of a serious condition.
By placing education directly within everyday environments, the campaign is positioned to catch the attention of those who might not otherwise seek information. This visibility can help older adults and their families identify concerns earlier and connect with healthcare services, ultimately reducing delays in diagnosis and improving long-term wellbeing.
- SAGE
SAGE (Sleep Apnea Guided Evaluation) is an easy-to-use app with a clear interface, voice-assisted interactions, and mood check-ins that accommodate users with low digital literacy or cognitive impairment. SAGE collects basic sleep-tracking information and questionnaire data, which can then be reviewed by sleep professionals through a dedicated interface. This makes the tool suitable for older adults who need guidance that is intuitive, personalised, and free of complex visuals.
The solution’s influence stems from simplifying the screening process and offering older users an accessible first step toward understanding their risk. By streamlining how information is gathered and shared with professionals, SAGE encourages earlier conversations about sleep health and supports more inclusive access to evaluation.
- SmartSleep Check
SmartSleep Check is a simplified, senior-friendly website featuring large fonts, minimal steps, and accessible navigation to accommodate users with low digital literacy. SmartSleep Check provides education through podcasts, directs users to trustworthy information, and guides them toward appropriate care pathways. It also addresses the shortcomings of existing screening tools, which are often text-heavy and confusing for older adults.
Its expected impact comes from removing both knowledge gaps and usability barriers. By presenting information clearly and offering straightforward guidance, SmartSleep Check helps older adults recognise symptoms sooner and navigate the pathway to care with greater ease, strengthening digital accessibility in sleep health.
Together, these concepts illustrate the creativity and awareness that students brought to the challenges of sleep health in older adults. While each solution remains an early-stage idea, they highlight promising directions for addressing longstanding gaps in awareness, screening, and adherence. Further development, evaluation, and co-design with older adults and healthcare professionals will be essential to refine their usability, ensure clinical safety, and maximise real-world impact.
Importantly, these initiatives underscore the broader need for continuous innovation in elderly care. As populations age and digital technologies become increasingly central to healthcare delivery, closing the digital divide is no longer optional, it is fundamental to ensuring equitable access to prevention, diagnosis, and long-term management.
By empowering the next generation of health professionals to think creatively and design with empathy, the eSleep_dHealth project contributes to building a future in which older adults can navigate sleep health with greater confidence, support, and dignity.