In the pharmaceutical industry, we develop drugs to treat the underlying disease, not just the symptoms. Yet, when it comes to adherence strategies, we often focus on treating the symptoms of non-adherence rather than addressing the root causes. To effectively improve adherence, we must focus on treating the “pathology” of non-adherence, which involves enhancing emotional engagement, providing emotional support, and fostering patient ownership over their health.

“Play is the work of childhood.” Jean Piaget, the famous child psychologist, captures the essence of curiosity and exploring with these six words. Mr. Rogers expanded on this a bit, to further clarify: “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning.”

Back when Sproutel was founded in 2012, our mission was to reach every child with type 1 diabetes through our first product, Jerry the Bear, and create similar products for children with other illnesses. We knew that this wouldn’t happen overnight. So, we built slowly and intentionally with a goal of doing well by doing good.