Community Health Innovation Region

Project

Develop a community health innovation region, focused on addressing upstream factors that influence health. Our team focused on emergency rooms use.

Goal

Understand resident experiences and attitudes in using the emergency room + use results to inform program.

Activities

Conducted six diverse focus groups across two counties.

Employer

Center for Health and Research Transformation

Thirty Under 30

Process

Before doing anything, we had to consider,

1 WHAT DO WE WANT TO LEARN?

Me Teaching

After preliminary research, we decided to focus learnings on:

  • What do people do during a health crisis?

  • What are perceptions of the ER?

  • What is the ER experience like?

  • What are community needs for care?

Consider the entire community by including populations diverse in age, ethnicity, income, geography, health status.

Leverage regional health coalition to work with local organizations as focus group partners.

We know what we want to learn, but

2 WHO WILL WE TALK TO?

Team Ideating
Environment matters, so

3 WHERE WILL WE WORK?

Me Teaching

Hold focus groups in local community spaces.

Ensure residents feel comfortable and groups are accessible.

Team will co-facilitate with local organizations, to build relationships and ensure resident comfort.

Use a process: transcribe, thematically code, synthesize, present.

Lastly, we have to think logistics, or

4 HOW WILL WE DO IT?

Team Ideating

5 SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN?

Many residents left the ER feeling:

  • Confused about their illness + crisis event
  • Unsupported in follow-up/treatment plan
  • Thankful for help during a moment of crisis
  • Unsure they can prevent a future crises

Residents need a way to understand their illness and treatment plan before leaving the ER.

Some residents visit the ER regularly, as the ER is “always open” and “can’t turn you away.”:

Residents need a way to learn about + access other health and social services.

Residents with mental illness use the ER differently, some to re-engage with treatment, and others avoid it, out of fear.

Residents with mental illness need clear, accessible, and safe pathways to care.