Situation
Bringing together many sectors including hospital and community mental health services, peer and Indigenous supports as well as social assistance and housing, the Collaborative generates socially significant outcomes for clients and patients in the region. In order to connect people to services, it needed a web presence that integrated a service directory tailored to user needs (including system navigators).
Task
Create an information-rich web resource detailing health care as well as broader social supports available, primarily for those with mental health or addictions needs. Integrate a wide range of resources to enable self-care and support providers.
Action
A gap analysis was performed to identify needed mental health and addictions records and information. User testing of records was then done to understand the level of detail required by the targeted patient population. Records were evaluated to ensure common, standardized language. Care pathways were mapped in order to learn how best to present information. Once this was done, an interactive website was built that presented a holistic view of nine different yet inter-connected health and social services, providing the right amount of detail about the services and including additional resources for service providers.
Results
Launched in 2018, the site provides a one-stop service guide for people with mental health and addiction needs and empowers providers to perform social prescribing, support care and connect patients and clients to a range of related services. This empowers a person-centred approach to care and promotes better health equity.