Mobile app for supporting celiac disease patients

[SaraE]

Hello all!

I have celiac disease and am currently writing a research paper about designing a mobile app for supporting celiac disease patients. 
The goal of the app is to serve as a support system for the specific celiac patient. The app would be used by the patient and their circle of family and friends. The celiac disease patient would have to 'invite' their family members, friends, coworkers, etc. in order for them to have access to the app. The idea is the app would have information tailored to the preferences of the celiac disease patient.
There are many apps to help you find gluten-free food (and personally I don't trust them very much because facilities change, ingredients change, every country has their own regulations, etc. so I prefer to do my own research and not rely on an app). This is why this new app would focus on the personal experience and preferences of each specific celiac patient. You know how we have to explain our disease to everyone and it feels like we've explained it 1000 times? How we have to think about where to go, where to eat and plan everything? Well, the app would help us explain our condition to our loved ones, and also provide ideas on how to support us with sections such as: 
>> Social support (understanding celiac disease, activities and socializing, dating, etc.)
>> Emotional support 
>> Physical wellness (the benefits of meditation, exercise, etc.)
>> Food (pre-approved -by us- restaurants, grocery list, favorite foods, etc.)
Also, subsequent versions of the app would allow the inner circle of the celiac disease patient to provide new ideas for each section and these would have to be approved by the celiac disease patient to be published in the app.

My ask is the following: I would love your input on the sections and subsections of the app.

Thank you very much!!! ?

[Ennis-TX]

As everyone is different with this disease and other issues a custom app might be appealing. Few ideas
Add in an Intolerance/Sensitivity/Allergy page for the "Supporters". Many of us get various food intolerance issues and have a whole list of foods we can not have, some we can not have even contact with, and even have allergic reactions to. So a 3 stage coding of severity from something like the level of gas etc, to vomiting and sick, to life-threatening absolute NO. I hate having to practically repeat my list to the family   I know it is drilled into me by pain and hours of being sick but seems even close family can forget. 

Add in a product page for "supporters" where we can a catalog with UPC barcode scanner and pics of what we CAN have. So family knows which prepackaged products we like and they can bring (perhaps a note section for adding "bring boxed unprepared or unopened"  Family traditions often involve bringing something over food wise. If they have the ability to scan and ping you if they can bring it over I think it could offer a way deepen interactions and get the family involved. 

Add a Food Dairy and scanning page (like fitbit), with a way to integrate with fitbit and my fitness pal both ways. BUT what these apps miss...is a symptom tracker. Where we can add in Gas at "Time" or Pain at "time", a broad "Neurological" at "time". Frankly, a lot of us have to keep this on paper. I cross reference with my fitbit app. 
On this section, I used to use various gluten tracking apps (foodicate, etc) that allowed scanning and checking via barcode. While a great integration...the ingredient changing, and the "in a facility" often slipped past. SO add in a personal happy/sad face for each person to check said food as still being "gluten-free" when scanned. Unsure if you want to do community integration with this, but if so perhaps have them take updated pictures of the product.  ALSO require the gluten free labels to only apply to certified foods. and a ? to food with notes "No gluten ingredients, not certified" on others. 

Fact many of us have apps we use daily, for other reasons like me with Fitbit. a broad interaction and support with various fitness, food, and social media apps to allow integration into one's life without redundancy is key to your success with this.