Helping Vulnerable People Improve their Digital Health Skills

Helen Milner OBE@helenmilner

Good Things Foundation: Innovating in Digital Inclusion

Not binary: offline / online

Non users: 13% of adults in the UK, with 58% of non-users

aged 65+, 42% are in poorer households

Narrow internet users: 11% of all internet users, older 55+

(59%), low income (18%), and newer users (31%)

Proxy users: 33% of UK non-users have asked someone else

to use the internet on their behalf in past 12 months

2 million people

A big club with a shared vision

5,000 hyperlocal partners

25,000 volunteers

Digital Champions

Digital is a foundation for wider resilience

Not just about skillssupport upfront, builds independent users

enable people to better look after themselvesself efficacy in a digital society

“teach a man to fish”

Some of our partners

Jobs

Social Housing

BasicDigitalSkills

FinancialLiteracy

Health &Social Care

EnglishLanguage

Libraries

SmallBusinesses

CommunityIntegration

A world where everyone can benefit from digital

Health &Social Care

A world where everyone can benefit from digital

A significant increase in the use of technology to help people to manage their own health and care

An NHS for everyoneregardless of income, gender, location, age, ethnicity or any other characteristic

Digital Inclusion & Health

In the UK one in six people are over 65 = 50% of NHS spend

One in four people have a long term condition or disability = 70% of NHS spend

People with LTCs and disabilities are three times more likely never to have used the internet

Widening Digital Participation with NHS England & Good Things Foundation

• To support those most likely to experience health inequalities

• Local support through a specialist Digital Health Network of c. 250 centres + rest of 5000 online centres network

• Expert online content: embeddable course, NHS Choices, which supports people to access health information online and learn how to complete digital medical transactions.

• And test innovative approaches to digital health literacy (homeless, sex workers, street delivery, social prescribing)

Reach of the programme

The Widening Digital Participation programme has had significant scale and reach, with:

• 221,941 people trained to use digital health resources and tools in year three

• 387,470 people reached with messages promoting digital tools and resources that could help them manage their health

• 8,138 people trained as Digital Health Champions or volunteers to help promote the awareness and use of digital health resources.

The programme has targeted the most vulnerable patients

• 82% fall into at least one category of social exclusion

• 60% are in receipt of benefits

• 44% are disabled

• 34% are unemployed

• 19% are aged 65 or over (with a further 21% aged 55-64)

• 16% are from BAME groups

Impact on learners

• 41% of those surveyed say they have learned to access health information online for the first time (a further 32% have learned to do this more effectively)

• 65% of respondents feel more informed about their health

• 59% of respondents feel more confident using online tools to manage their health

• 52% of respondents feel less lonely or isolated

• 62% feel happier as a result of more social contact

After learning about using the internet to manage health:

• 56% of learners went on to find information on the internet about health conditions, symptoms or tips for staying healthy

• 54% of learners in need of non-urgent medical advice said they would now go to the internet before consulting their GP, to look at sites such as NHS Choices

• 51% of learners have used the internet to explore ways to improve mental health and wellbeing

Innovation Pathfinders

The programme enabled successful approaches to be developed, adapted and tested which engage people from specific target audiences, ensuring that we are ‘reaching the furthest first’, including:

• People with dementia

• Carers of people with dementia and other unpaid carers

• People with learning difficulties or disabilities

• Young people (including those at risk of offending)

General themes across all audiences

• Trust and safety concerns: NHS Choices is trusted but most people treat

other online health tools with caution because they are unsure of the source.

• Information overload: The NHS Choices website can be difficult for people

to understand the terminology and acronyms used. This can lead to

confusion and can counteract the positive effect of digital health resources

on relieving the burden on health services as people seek clarification in

person or over the telephone

• The value of personal testimony: People are receptive to and trusting of

information provided by others with shared experiences

• Basic digital skills and wider wellbeing: The right equipment, internet

access and basic digital skills training allows people to access condition-

specific health resources online. It also enables them to engage with

services more effectively.

The impact on frontline services of the total programme

The programme has had a significant impact on health services, with people now using the internet at their first port of call for information

• 21% of learners made fewer calls or visits to their GP

• 10% of learners made fewer calls to NHS 111

• 6% of learners made fewer visits to A&E

• 29% of learners have gone online to find health services

• 22% of learners have progressed to booking GP appointments online and

• 20% have ordered repeat prescriptions online

• 17% of learners have gone online to rate or review their GP or another health service

This behavior change has resulted in significant cost savings to the NHS. Our evaluation has found potential annual savings of

• £3.7m in saved GP visits

• £2.3m in saved A&E visits

These savings alone represent a return on investment of £6.40 for every £1 invested in year three of the programme

In summary

65% of patients agreed they were more informed about their health

54% needing non-urgent medical advice said they would now go online first before consulting their GP

£6.40 saved for the NHS for every £1 invested in the programme

http://nhs.goodthingsfoundation.org/

Ron

Less than six months ago Ron was living in a tent by a busy road. Poor mental and physical health, and a gambling addiction, had left him out of work, homeless. With the help of a local charity and online centre, Ron has found housing and has the skills he needs to improve his life, health and wellbeing.

Thank You!

@helenmilner@goodthingsfdn