Oklahoma City University

PROJECT PURPOSE

Oklahoma City University is uniquely positioned to address inequities in and improve the access to effective health and mental-health care for diverse populations (e.g., urban, rural, aging, and indigenous citizens) that have been significantly and disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and its long hauler effects. Our approach is three-pronged: inter-disciplinary education, advanced technology, and local and regional partnerships. The OCU Center for Virtual Healthcare Education will coordinate nursing, psychology, physician assistants, physical therapy (PA/PT), computer science, and film/media expertise for the delivery of innovative, culturally adapted training. In particular, our simulated education (e.g., telehealth; augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR)) will offer real-life, real-time clinical training on demand and at scale, independent of geography and time constraints. Moreover, inspired by the Mayo Clinic (2020) recommendations, our center can offer accelerated instruction on beneficial and impactful health and mental-health messaging (via social media campaigns, podcasts, mobile apps, PSAs, etc.) to improve communication between patients, healthcare providers, and other health and mental-health stakeholders (public, private, community, non-profit and for-profit) across our state. We are confident our proposed investment in physical and digital infrastructure will improve health- and mental-healthcare education and access to current and future Oklahomans. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30277549/ https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/take-action-to-improve-health/what-works-for-health/strategies/cultural-competence-training-for-health-care-professionals Oklahoma City University is uniquely positioned to address inequities in and improve the access to effective health and mental-health care for diverse populations (e.g., urban, rural, aging, and indigenous citizens) that have been significantly and disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and its long hauler effects. Our approach is three-pronged: inter-disciplinary education, advanced technology, and local and regional partnerships. The OCU Center for Virtual Healthcare Education will coordinate nursing, psychology, physician assistants, physical therapy (PA/PT), computer science, and film/media expertise for the delivery of innovative, culturally adapted training. In particular, our simulated education (e.g., telehealth; augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR)) will offer real-life, real-time clinical training on demand and at scale, independent of geography and time constraints. Moreover, inspired by the Mayo Clinic (2020) recommendations, our center can offer accelerated instruction on beneficial and impactful health and mental-health messaging (via social media campaigns, podcasts, mobile apps, PSAs, etc.) to improve communication between patients, healthcare providers, and other health and mental-health stakeholders (public, private, community, non-profit and for-profit) across our state. We are confident our proposed investment in physical and digital infrastructure will improve health- and mental-healthcare education and access to current and future Oklahomans. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30277549/ https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/take-action-to-improve-health/what-works-for-health/strategies/cultural-competence-training-for-health-care-professionals Oklahoma City University is uniquely positioned to address inequities in and improve the access to effective health and mental-health care for diverse populations (e.g., urban, rural, aging, and indigenous citizens) that have been significantly and disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and its long hauler effects. Our approach is three-pronged: inter-disciplinary education, advanced technology, and local and regional partnerships. The OCU Center for Virtual Healthcare Education will coordinate nursing, psychology, physician assistants, physical therapy (PA/PT), computer science, and film/media expertise for the delivery of innovative, culturally adapted training. In particular, our simulated education (e.g., telehealth; augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR)) will offer real-life, real-time clinical training on demand and at scale, independent of geography and time constraints. Moreover, inspired by the Mayo Clinic (2020) recommendations, our center can offer accelerated instruction on beneficial and impactful health and mental-health messaging (via social media campaigns, podcasts, mobile apps, PSAs, etc.) to improve communication between patients, healthcare providers, and other health and mental-health stakeholders (public, private, community, non-profit and for-profit) across our state. We are confident our proposed investment in physical and digital infrastructure will improve health- and mental-healthcare education and access to current and future Oklahomans. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30277549/ https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/take-action-to-improve-health/what-works-for-health/strategies/cultural-competence-training-for-health-care-professionals

EVIDENCE

Nursing, PA/PT, and psychologists will continue to navigate the care needs of acute and long COVID patients for years to come. Telehealth was an innovative solution that is now a necessity for delivery of healthcare services. Provider proficiency in implementation and utilization is essential (AHRQ Effective Health Care program, 2020). https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/telehealth-expansion/white-paper Health care providers need educational resources for their patients most impacted by COVID-19. Interventions that increase providers ability to offer health care services to patients from diverse cultures is essential to increasing patient utilization, knowledge, and satisfaction with health care delivery methods. https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/cultural-competence/research-protocol

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Multiple populations will benefit from the program, including indigenous persons, older adults, residents of rural communities, the socioeconomically disadvantaged, and other vulnerable populations (LGBTQ, inner-city, and those with substance use disorders, and/or chronic physical and mental illness/disability). Reaching as many Oklahomans as possible is imperative due to overlap in aspects of vulnerability and the physical and psychological sequelae of COVID-19. For example, persons of color and older adults are more likely to contract and experience deleterious outcomes from COVID-19. Further, these populations have experienced the loss of loved ones up to four times higher than the general population, all of which contribute to negative consequences to mental health, including increased risk for suicide. Compounding factors include rural residency, poverty, access to healthcare, use of substances, and preexisting mental health issues. Rural residents in Oklahoma continue to experience higher rates of mortality from COVID-19, are more likely to have lower income, decreased access to healthcare support, and increased incidence of chronic illness. Improving education for future healthcare providers in Oklahoma to deliver care and/or patient support/education via technological modalities is key to combatting inequities in care for vulnerable populations. Quality training has been shown to improve service utilization.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Professional providers and recipients of our telehealth training will be regularly surveyed on (a) programmatic delivery substance/style, (b) relevance/applicability of materials, and (c) utilization/impact of project deliverables. Via a simple digital platform, direct users will report short-(2 weeks) and long term (2-, 6-, 12-months ) data. Quantitative (e.g., demographics of: providers and vulnerable Oklahomans; number of education modules offered, CEU attendance, media reach) and qualitative (e.g., opinions regarding the usability and efficacy of our training and resources; suggestions of desired topics and emerging issues; message clarity) assessment and evaluation data will be collected.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma