Figure 1
Flow of client through Health TAPESTRY.
Table 1
Details about Participants Involved.
| PROFESSIONS OF HEALTH CARE TEAM MEMBERS IN FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS | N (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Physician | 23 (34.3) | |
| Manager or Director | 9 (13.4) | |
| Registered Nurse | 7 (10.4) | |
| Occupational Therapist | 5 (7.5) | |
| Nurse Practitioner | 5 (7.5) | |
| Dietitian | 4 (6.0) | |
| Social Worker | 4 (6.0) | |
| Pharmacist | 3 (4.5) | |
| System Navigator | 2 (3.0) | |
| Administrative Assistant | 2 (3.0) | |
| Physician Assistant | 1 (1.5) | |
| Registered Practical Nurse | 1 (1.5) | |
| Physiotherapist | 1 (1.5) | |
| VOLUNTEERS IN THE SYSTEM NAVIGATION SURVEY | N = 38 | |
| Age (years) | ||
| Range | 18–78 | |
| Mean (SD) | 46.74 (21.1) | |
| Gender* | ||
| Female, n (%) | 28 (80.0) | |
| Male, n (%) | 7 (20.0) | |
| Ethnicity* | ||
| European/white, n (%) | 5 (55.6) | |
| South Asian, n (%) | 2 (22.2) | |
| African/Black, n (%) | 1 (11.1) | |
| Other, n (%) | 1 (11.1) | |
| Highest level of education* | ||
| Bachelor’s, n (%) | 11 (30.6) | |
| Master’s, n (%) | 7 (19.4) | |
| Enrolled in Bachelor’s, n (%) | 7 (19.4) | |
| Community college, n (%) | 6 (16.7) | |
| High school, n (%) | 3 (8.3) | |
| Professional degree, n (%) | 2 (5.6) | |
| Years of volunteer experience | ||
| Range | 0–40 | |
| Mean, SD | 11.2 (11.0) | |
| CLIENTS WHO COMPLETED THE COMMUNITY SERVICE USE SURVEY N = 110 | CLIENTS IN INTERVIEWS N = 39 | |
| Gender* (N = 108) | ||
| Female, n (%) | 75 (69.4) | 25 (64.1) |
| Male, n (%) | 33 (30.6) | 14 (35.9) |
| Ethnicity* (N = 108) | ||
| European/White, n (%) | 102 (94.4) | 35 (89.7) |
| Other, n (%) | 3 (2.8) | 3 (7.7) |
| African/Black, n (%) | 1 (0.9) | 1 (2.6) |
| Indigenous, n (%) | 1 (0.9) | 0 (0.0) |
| Don’t know, n (%) | 1 (0.9) | 0 (0.0) |
| Marital Status (N = 110) | ||
| Married, n (%) | 55 (50.0) | 18 (46.2) |
| Common law, n (%) | 3 (2.7) | 0 (0.0) |
| Divorced, n (%) | 15 (13.6) | 3 (7.1) |
| Widower, n (%) | 29 (26.4) | 13 (33.3) |
| Single/never married, n (%) | 6 (5.5) | 5 (12.8) |
| No answer, n (%) | 2 (2.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Household Income (N = 110) | ||
| $20,001-$50,000, n (%) | 43 (39.1) | 17 (43.6) |
| $50,001-$70,000, n (%) | 24 (21.8) | 6 (15.4) |
| $70,001-$100,000, n (%) | 18 (16.4) | 8 (20.5) |
| Under $20,000, n (%) | 8 (7.3) | 1 (2.6) |
| $100,001-$150,000, n (%) | 7 (6.4) | 5 (12.8) |
| Greater than $150,000, n (%) | 2 (1.8) | 0 (0.0) |
| No answer, n (%) | 8 (7.3) | 2 (5.1) |
[i] Percentages are based on valid responses.
* Though other options were provided, only those options that had data are listed in this table; some had multiple missing options.
Table 2
Interprofessional Team Member Follow-Up Action Requests to Volunteers.
| FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS REQUESTED | N (%) |
|---|---|
| Facilitate connection to a specific community programme | 55 (42.6) |
| Learn more about their interests and connect to community programmes and services | 31 (24.0) |
| Other | 21 (16.3) |
| Check-in on their progress toward life/health goals | 12 (9.3) |
| Accompany the client to a community programme or service | 3 (2.3) |
| Complete an additional clinical screening tool | 2 (1.6) |
| Refer to Canadian [Name] transportation services | 2 (1.6) |
| Review care plan instructions with client | 2 (1.6) |
| Follow-up on a referral with client in [time period] (e.g., follow up in 3 months on suggestion for client to visit an exercise programme) | 1 (0.8) |
Table 3
CBHSS Categories that Clients were Given Information About.
| CATEGORY | N (%) |
|---|---|
| Chronic health conditions, e.g., education or assistance for those living with chronic health conditions, referrals to providers for specific conditions | 44 (15.2) |
| Diet and nutrition, e.g., referrals to dietitians, cooking classes, meal delivery services | 38 (13.1) |
| Independence at home, e.g., fall prevention course, snow removal | 37 (12.8) |
| Fit and active, e.g., exercise and walking programmes | 33 (11.4) |
| Seniors centres and programmes for healthy aging without a specific programme suggestion | 33 (11.4) |
| Counselling and friendly visiting | 21 (7.2) |
| Educational, e.g., local university programmes | 14 (4.8) |
| Online health information, i.e., links to trustworthy online places to find health information | 9 (3.1) |
| Social, e.g., social clubs, coffee clubs | 9 (3.1) |
| Transportation programmes | 9 (3.1) |
| Creative, e.g., classes for art, knitting, music | 5 (1.7) |
| Caregiving supports | 4 (1.8) |
| Volunteering opportunities | 2 (0.7) |
| Not stated | 32 (11.0) |
Table 4
CBHSS Categories that Clients Said They Attended or Used.
| CATEGORY | N (%) |
|---|---|
| Chronic health conditions, e.g., education or assistance for those living with chronic health conditions, referrals to providers for specific conditions | 33 (27.3) |
| Diet and nutrition, e.g., referrals to dietitians, cooking classes, meal delivery services | 21 (17.4) |
| Fit and active, e.g., exercise and walking programmes | 13 (10.7) |
| Counselling and friendly-visiting | 12 (9.9) |
| Seniors centres and programmes for healthy aging without a specific programme suggestion | 12 (9.9) |
| Independence at home, e.g., fall prevention course, snow removal | 11 (9.1) |
| Online health information, i.e., links to trustworthy online places to find health information | 7 (5.8) |
| Creative, e.g., classes for art, knitting, music | 3 (2.5) |
| Educational, e.g., local university programmes | 3 (2.5) |
| Social, e.g., social clubs, coffee clubs | 2 (1.7) |
| Caregiving supports | 1 (0.8) |
| Transportation programmes | 1 (0.8) |
| Volunteering opportunities | 0 (0.0) |
Table 5
Top Three Categories of CBHSSs Mentioned at Each Step.
| INDEPENDENCE | FIT & ACTIVE | CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS | DIET & NUTRITION | EDUCATION & FINANCES | PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interprofessional Team | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | |||
| Volunteers | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | |||
| Clients – Information Given | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | |||
| Clients – Attended | 3rd | 1st | 2nd |
Table 6
Volunteer Confidence in Undertaking System Navigation-Related Aspects of their Role (N = 38).
| SYSTEM NAVIGATION FUNCTIONS | MEAN (SD) |
|---|---|
| Know when to access my volunteer coordinator | 5.8 (0.4) |
| Report to the primary care team on any concerns from home visits or potential needs of clients | 5.6 (0.7) |
| Manage any critical or urgent issues that arise while on a home visit | 5.2 (0.8) |
| Identify client barriers to accessing community programmes and services | 5.2 (0.8) |
| Facilitate setting SMART health and life goals with the client | 5.1 (0.9) |
| Identify client needs for community-based health and social services and programmes | 5.1 (0.9) |
| Receive and review any follow up instructions from the primary care team with the client | 5.1 (1.1) |
| Report to the primary care team on client barriers, enablers, and potential areas of interested related to community programmes and services | 5.0 (0.9) |
| Assist clients in overcoming barriers to accessing community programmes and services | 4.8 (0.9) |
| Follow-up on client progress toward health or life goals | 4.8 (1.2) |
| Assist clients in finding community programmes and services that meet their interests and needs (e.g., through Canada211, local community service directives, or thehealthline.ca) | 4.8 (1.1) |
| Assist clients in reaching out to community services for further information or to address access issues | 4.7 (1.3) |
| Use motivational interviewing techniques to support client in goal attainment | 4.7 (1.1) |
| Educate about and encourage use of trusted resources for health information, such as the [Name] Optimal Aging Portal | 4.6 (1.2) |
| Follow-up on uptake of services identified to be of interest to be of interest to the client or recommended by the primary care team | 4.6 (1.3) |
| Create linkages between the client and community programmes and services such as [Name] programmes, programmes found through online tools, or those identified by the primary care team | 4.6 (1.2) |
| Coordinate client access to needed services, such as through the [Name] Transportation programme or local transit | 4.5 (1.4) |
[i] Responses for each item were on a 6-point scale: 0 (not at all confident) to 5 (very confident).