HealthTech startup Holly Health has received peer-reviewed validation for its digital coaching platform.
Research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) confirms that Holly Health meaningfully improves subjective well-being in people living with multiple chronic conditions.
The research, conducted with University College London (UCL), tracked 565 users over 12 weeks and found significant improvements in life satisfaction, happiness, sense of purpose and anxiety across all age groups, including older adults.
The study also identified how the platform drives change. The app’s chatbot, habit-tracking tools and small-goals framework were found to reduce feelings of loneliness, build self-compassion and support sustained behaviour change.
Holly Health – digital health coaching for chronic conditions & day-to-day wellbeing
The JMIR publication is believed to be the first peer-reviewed study examining the impact of a digital health app specifically on people with multimorbidity. This group represents one of the NHS’s most complex care challenges, with numbers projected to grow significantly by 2035.
Holly Health, founded by Grace Gimson (pictured) in 2020 and featured on BusinessCloud’s HealthTech 50, is already deployed across more than 200 NHS GP practices and recently announced a white-label partnership with GLL to bring its coaching to over 350,000 leisure centre members nationwide.
Holly Health is backed by the NHS Innovation Accelerator and is now available as a white-label integration for global health and wellness organisations.
The full study is available to read at https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e78738/