mHealth Demo | Utility of GHF360 Comm.Health App for Clinic-Based Systematic Management of Coverage & Outcomes of Health Screenings & Vaccinations

ByContent Curator

Abstract: This mobile health (mHealth) training demo report/call-to-action presents an overview of the clinic-based utility of GHF360 Comm.Health App for systematic management of coverage & outcomes of health screenings & vaccinations. The initiative is a collaboration of IEPH & GHF360 as summarized below.

Global.
Healthy Future 360

Development of Digital Health Innovations (DHIs), & incubator of network of Design Labs plus virtual experiential Innovation Hubs for DHI student clubs.

GHF360| IEPH
Beyond COVID Collaboration

A capacity development & augmentation focus on DHIs (incl. Mobile Health, mHealth) solutions spanning the continuum from conceptualization, development, deployment, health improvement efficacy demonstration projects to full scale implementation.

Institutes of Epidemiology & Public Health

Demonstration projects of Digital Health Innovations (DHI) facilitated by Epidemiology, Analytics & Service-Project-Based e-Learning (EASel) initiatives.

AIMS & OBJECTIVES

Purpose

This report/call-to-action presents a service-learning demonstration/training overview. At the end of this demo/training preview, participants (health providers/volunteers) seeking to manage health screenings and vaccinations among low- to middle-income communities, will have gained insights on:

  • The utility of a clinic-based custom-developed mobile health (mHealth) technological innovation, the GHF360 Comm.Health app, to systematically manage (assess/improve) quality of preventive care, and coverage and outcomes of health screenings and vaccinations; more specifically:
  • Addressing each patient’s personal/individual-level health screenings & vaccinations status, including longitudinal patient follow-up to improve individual-level coverage;
  • Addressing community/group-level health screenings & vaccinations coverage, including longitudinal group follow-up using the cascade of care continuum model ;
  • The ‘workforce multiplier’ potential of mHealth to improve the systematic management of health screenings and vaccinations coverage, and related health outcomes;
TARGET AUDIENCE & IMPLEMENTATION SETTINGS

Call to Action

This call-to-action is underpinned by the values of ubuntu & humanitarianism that guide IEPH & GHF360 efforts at the service of people most disadvantaged and adversely affected by health inequities. Towards that end, the target audience/participants and implementation settings of this initiative include, but are not limited to, the following:

Target Audience/Participants

  • Healthcare providers & community health field workers;
  • Including volunteer Clinical Support Associates such as retired health providers;
  • Laboratory, pharmacy, and other allied health professionals;
  • Early career health professionals;
  • Trainees in health disciplines:
  • Medical, public health & allied health discipline scholars/trainees or students;
  • Student clubs/groups (group enrollment);

Implementation Settings

  • Clinic-level sites;
  • Clinical laboratory-run screening test sites;
  • Pharmacy-run vaccination sites;
  • Public health agency/community-level programs, incl. social service, educational (schools, colleges, universities, etc), workplace/occupational, correctional, elder care, travel, hospitality, leisure & other congregate settings; &
  • Managed care health insurance plans;
BACKGROUND & RATIONALE

The Why

The following elucidate the background and rationale:

  • Many people are unaware of the recommended screenings and vaccinations for their age, sex, and current health status, and this information is often not readily accessible;
  • Patients often visit health providers for acute care, with little time allocated for preventive care;
  • Use of mobile health (mHealth) technological innovations custom-developed for systematic management of health screenings and vaccinations in underserved communities has potential to improve coverage;
  • Inequities in health screenings and vaccinations coverage more adversely impacting low- and middle-income communities, were laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic, thus highlighting the need to accelerate mHealth adoption through this demonstration and training of health providers on the utility of such custom-developed digital health innovations in the clinical decision support workflow in these settings;

In this next phase, following completion of the development phase for the GHF360 Comm.Health App, the developers and volunteer service-learning participants apply their knowledge in real-world service, demonstration and health provider/ambassador pilot training on assessing and improving coverage of health screenings and vaccinations, and related health outcomes.

DEMOS

How To

Demonstrations of the use of GHF360 Comm.Health App for Systematic Management of Personal/Individual- & Community/Group-Level Coverage & Outcomes of Health Screenings & Vaccinations.

1 – Health Clinic Workflow Adaptations

Integration of GHF360 screenings and vaccinations clinic associate into an adapted clinic patient care workflow (with the project associate embedded via remote/telehealth modalities or on-site).

  • 1 – Clinic Project/Program Account Creation on GHF360 App

    The ‘Clinical Support Associate’ at participating clinic project/program seeking to use GHF360 app to manage screenings & vaccinations, initiates creation of user account & clinic project account in the app.

  • 2 – Patient Registration in Clinic & in App

    The Clinical Support Associate’ at participating clinic project/program can securely & confidentially enroll patients (by assigned number w/no personal identifiers) in the app to begin managing (assessing &/or improving) individuals’ screenings & vaccinations status.

  • 3- *Patient Triage incl. Screenings Status Assessment

    -‘Clinical Support Associate’ conducts patient screenings status assessment following app’s guided questionnaire;
    –App retrieves & generates tabulations, charts, & PDF of guidelines-recommended screenings based on the patient’s age, sex, prior screenings & health status.

  • 4 – *Patient Triage incl. Vaccination Status Assessment

    –‘Clinical Support Associate’ conducts patient vaccination status assessment following the app’s guided questionnaire;
    -App retrieves & generates tabulations, charts, & PDF of guidelines-recommended vaccinations based on the patient’s age, sex, prior vaccinations & health status.

  • 5 – Patient Health Check & Treatment by Clinician/Provider

    -Diagnosing/Prescribing Clinician (Health Provider) reviews* the guideline-recommended screenings & vaccinations retrieved and generated by the app for the patient, then endorse, order & schedule recommended actions deemed appropriate for the patient at that time, & upon follow-up.

*Clinic workflow adaptations.

2 – Demos of Clinic-Based Use of GHF360 Comm.Health App

Systematic management of personal/individual- & community/group-level coverage & outcomes of health screenings & vaccinations.

Addressing Personal/Individual-Level Health Screenings & Vaccinations Status

The 4.5 minute video demonstrates a Clinic Support Associate’s use of the GHF360 Comm.Health App to assess recommended screenings and vaccination status at the personal/individual-level, and as indicated, referral to health care provider, laboratory testing and vaccine administration points.

Play

Addressing Community/Group-level Health Screenings & Vaccinations Coverage

The 3.5 minute video demonstrates a Clinic Support Associate &/or Diagnosing/Prescribing Health Provider’s use of the GHF360 Comm.Health App to conduct continuity of follow-up on community/group-level coverage of screenings and vaccinations (incl. indicated linkage to and retention in the care cascade, and quality assurance towards disease control as needed).

Play
Service-Learning & Preventive Health

Applicability

Through this mHealth service-learning demonstration/training initiative, participating clinics & Clinical Support Associates undertake:

  • Community engagement and civic responsibility;
  • Use of digital health innovations for assessing and improving coverage of health screenings and vaccinations;
  • Capacity augmentation and strengthening through an mHealth ‘workforce multiplier’ approach;
  • Assessment and improvement of quality of preventive care and health outcomes among low- and middle-income communities (LMIcs);

Conclusion: The initiative demonstrates how integration of mobile Health (mHealth) technologies in LMIc settings can be effectively undertaken to a) augment and strengthen capacity, and b) systematic management (assessment/improvement) of quality of preventive care, and coverage and outcomes of health screenings and vaccinations.

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