Proposed Topic (Most preferred): :
Enhancing Partnership with Patients and Community (Projects initiated to engage patients / carers / community to improve efficiency / quality of care)
Proposed Topic (Second preferred): :
Clinical Safety and Quality Service III (Projects aiming at quality service to patients and their carers)
Authors (including presenting author) :
Kam KW(1); Li KL(1); Chan WT(1); Lau OY(1); Kung KM(1); Cheng SM(1); Au Yeung TL(1); Cheng YS(1); Wong YM(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Patient Resources Centres, NTWC
Introduction :
HA Go is a one-stop mobile platform designed to improve patient experience in the overall healthcare journey. The download rate has been increasing continuously since launched. However, some vulnerable group users such as elderly patients and ethnic minorities have been observed to have difficulties on downloading and using HA Go. Moreover, as new functions will be included from time to time, some users are unable to grasp the functions being newly built in. In this regards, Patient Resources Centers of NTWC launch a project on engaging community partners to maximise the utilisation of HA Go.
Objectives :
To increase the download rate and build up a sustainable network with community partners for HA Go promotion and support.
Methodology :
Suggestions from community partners via various NTWC Medical Social Collaboration Committees were collected. Five strategies were mapped out to guide the promotion: 1) Train volunteers to promote HA Go at hospitals setting; 2) Mobilise Patient Groups to promote HA Go when providing peer support; 3) Collaborate with Community Partners (e.g. Social Welfare Department, District Health Centres, Non-governmental Organisations,) to promote HA Go in their centres; 4) Partner with education institutes to organise Youth Ambassador Scheme for HA Go promotion; 5) Strengthen volunteer service management
To implement the strategies, train-the-trainer workshops were organsied to train staff of community partners and volunteers to be a trainer of HA Go. Training materials (e.g. tutorial videos & manual) were consolidated to suit the use of target participants. In addition, HA Go satellite support counters managed by volunteers had been set up at hospitals, clinics, and centres of community partners.
Result & Outcome :
From March to December 2023, over 200 community partners (including education institutes, SWD, DHCs, NGOs as well as centres for ethnic minority groups) were engaged for supporting their members to use HA Go. In that period, over 200 youth and 300 adult volunteers were trained. They had facilitated over 5,000 new targets to download HA Go and educate more than 20,000 existing users to use various function of HA Go. The project successfully optimsed outreaching to potential HA Go users through ripple effect with minimal manpower input of HA. A sustainable network was also built for reaching new users and supporting the continuous use of HA Go through community partnership. More importantly, it mobilised youth volunteers to promote HA Go via social media and co-created an atmosphere of using HA Go in the community.
