Health eConcierge: Improving Accessibility of Health and Social Services for Seniors Rossini Y.K. Yue 1,2 , Jacqueline L. Bender 1,3,4 , Mat Trudel 1 , Thiruvengadam Radhakrishnan 5 , Ashita Mohapatra 1 , Alejandro R. Jadad 1,2,3,4 1 Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, University Health Network, 2 Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, 3 Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 4 ELLICSR Health, Wellness and Cancer Survivorship Centre, University Health Network, 5 Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Concordia University Challenge Objective Approach Results Acknowledgements • To improve accessibility of health and social service information for seniors and their caregivers • To reduce the time and effort needed for service organizations to update and maintain their service information • To enable all service organizations, big or small, to have a platform to publish information to a wide audience as well as access the same pool of service information Health eConcierge Ecosystem • Build data standards to connect, update and search data across multiple service databases • Utilize open source data standards and tools from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) so that it is accessible to all • Create a solution that allows any number of front-ends (e.g. websites) connect to any number of back-ends (e.g. service databases) Proof of Concept Development and Testing Process • Collaborate with community organizations to connect local databases to the Health eConcierge ecosystem • Interview seniors, family caregivers and health professionals to determine their health service information needs and search preferences • Using a user-centered design approach, iteratively develop and test a website that enables seniors and their caregivers to easily search for and connect to health and social services. • Our proof-of-concept end-to-end solution has successfully demonstrated that: – Multiple databases can be connected to the Health eConcierge – Service organizations find it easy to add and update their service information in the system – Seniors and their caregivers like the website, can easily use it to search for relevant services and would recommend it to their friends Significance QR Code Mobile App Directory Directory Website Directory Website Phone Separate searches are needed to access all listings SILOS OF INFORMATION Directory Mobile App Directory Directory Website Directory Website Directory Phone A search draws on listings from all databases in the network ECOSYSTEM OF INFORMATION SHARING FRONT-END BACK-END Semi-structured Interviews Participatory Design Workshop Prototyping Iterative User Testing Figure 3: User-Centered Design process for front-end web-interface • When seniors are confronted with a health issue, it is often difficult for them and their families to find information about appropriate health and social services that could help. • Community agencies spend significant resources to create and maintain service directories for their regions. However, it is a challenge to keep them comprehensive and up-to-date, and to publicize them effectively so that people are aware that such resources exist. • Efforts are duplicated as each agency attempts to compile similar lists of health and social services. Figure 1: Current Health Service Information Structure Figure 2: Proposed Health Service Information Structure (Health eConcierge) Figure 4: Front-end website Figure 5: Back-end administrator website The Health eConcierge addresses inequity by proposing a collaborative ecosystem that breaks down silos of information in the health system, provides a simple and economical solution for organizations to promote their services online, and improves the accessibility of health service information for seniors and their caregivers. We would like to thank Green Shield Canada Foundation for funding this project. As well, we would like to thank the following community organizations that have been involved with the project: 211 Ontario, FindHelp, Alzheimer Society of Toronto, Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, Patients Canada and ELLICSR Health, Wellness and Cancer Survivorship Centre
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Health eConcierge: Improving Accessibility of Health and Social Services for SeniorsRossini Y.K. Yue1,2, Jacqueline L. Bender1,3,4, Mat Trudel1, Thiruvengadam Radhakrishnan5, Ashita Mohapatra1, Alejandro R. Jadad1,2,3,4
1 Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, University Health Network, 2 Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto,3 Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 4 ELLICSR Health, Wellness and Cancer Survivorship Centre, University Health Network,
5 Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Concordia University
Challenge
Objective
Approach Results
Acknowledgements• To improve accessibility of health and social service informationfor seniors and their caregivers• To reduce the time and effort needed for service organizations toupdate and maintain their service information• To enable all service organizations, big or small, to have a platformto publish information to a wide audience as well as access thesame pool of service information
Health eConcierge Ecosystem• Build data standards to connect, update and search data acrossmultiple service databases• Utilize open source data standards and tools from the World WideWeb Consortium (W3C) so that it is accessible to all• Create a solution that allows any number of front-ends (e.g.websites) connect to any number of back-ends (e.g. servicedatabases)
Proof of Concept Development and Testing Process• Collaborate with community organizations to connect localdatabases to the Health eConcierge ecosystem• Interview seniors, family caregivers and health professionals todetermine their health service information needs and searchpreferences• Using a user-centered design approach, iteratively develop andtest a website that enables seniors and their caregivers to easilysearch for and connect to health and social services.
• Our proof-of-concept end-to-end solution has successfullydemonstrated that:– Multiple databases can be connected to the Health eConcierge– Service organizations find it easy to add and update their service
information in the system– Seniors and their caregivers like the website, can easily use it to
search for relevant services and would recommend it to theirfriends
Significance
QR Code
Mobile App
DirectoryDirectory
Website
Directory
Website Phone
Separate searches are needed to access all listings
SILOS OF INFORMATION
Directory
MobileApp
DirectoryDirectory
Website
Directory
Website
Directory
Phone
A search draws on listings from all databases in the network
ECOSYSTEM OF INFORMATION SHARING
FRONT-END
BACK-END
Semi-structured Interviews
Participatory Design Workshop
Prototyping
Iterative User Testing
Figure 3: User-Centered Design process for front-end web-interface
• When seniors are confronted with a health issue, it is oftendifficult for them and their families to find information aboutappropriate health and social services that could help.• Community agencies spend significant resources to create andmaintain service directories for their regions. However, it is achallenge to keep them comprehensive and up-to-date, and topublicize them effectively so that people are aware that suchresources exist.• Efforts are duplicated as each agency attempts to compile similarlists of health and social services.
Figure 1: Current Health Service Information Structure
Figure 2: Proposed Health Service Information Structure (Health eConcierge) Figure 4: Front-end website Figure 5: Back-end administrator website
The Health eConcierge addresses inequity by proposing acollaborative ecosystem that breaks down silos of information inthe health system, provides a simple and economical solution fororganizations to promote their services online, and improves theaccessibility of health service information for seniors and theircaregivers.
We would like to thank Green Shield Canada Foundation for funding this project. As well, we would like to thank the following community organizations that have been involved with the project: 211 Ontario, FindHelp, Alzheimer Society of Toronto, Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, Patients Canada and ELLICSR Health, Wellness and Cancer Survivorship Centre
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