In order to transform healthcare technologies from unused tools into trusted and accessible solutions, US-based Nigerian strategist, Dara Adegunloye, has advocated evidence-based adoption frameworks as key to achieving this goal.

Speaking with the media recently, she said the United States faces a translation problem rather than an innovation shortage, where extraordinary healthcare tools fail to reach patients.

Every year, billions of dollars are invested in digital health platforms, diagnostics, AI-driven tools and new models of care in the US. Yet, for many of these innovations, progress stalls after launch. Patients do not know the tools exist, providers are unsure how to integrate them, and health systems struggle to explain their value.

“We build extraordinary tools, but we don’t always help people understand, trust or know how to use them in their lives. That’s where impact is lost,” she stated.

Born in Nigeria and now based in Seattle, Adegunloye is building a discipline that combines healthcare, analytics and human-centred communication.

Her startup works with early-stage and growth-phase health technology companies to design go-to-market systems grounded in behavioural science, segmentation analytics and health communication research, treating adoption as a public health outcome rather than merely a commercial one.

She noted that healthcare innovations often fail not because they lack clinical value, but because they are introduced without clear narratives, patient education pathways or trust-building mechanisms.

The startup develops playbooks that align product value with patient needs, provider workflows and system incentives.

Growing up in Nigeria, Adegunloye observed how life-saving solutions often exist but fail to reach people because of communication gaps, mistrust or lack of awareness.

Adegunloye holds a Master of Science in Marketing Analytics, an MBA, and is pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration in Strategic Leadership. She has authored research on innovation diffusion and healthcare adoption barriers.

“Marketing in healthcare isn’t about selling; it’s about comprehension. If someone doesn’t understand what’s available to them, they can’t choose it. Awareness is access,” she said.

She added that her startup’s operating model begins with identifying who needs to understand the innovation, what they fear, what they value and where confusion occurs. “We’ve built systems that assume people will find their way to innovation. But real equity requires intention. We have to design adoption,” she said.

The startup is developing scalable go-to-market frameworks across healthcare domains, from preventive care platforms to AI-enabled diagnostics. By treating awareness, understanding and trust as core design variables, Adegunloye is reframing what it means to launch in healthcare.

She stressed that impact does not happen at approval but at understanding, emphasising that progress is not only about what exists, but whether people can actually use it.