Abstract
This initiative addresses the need for a clear, community-centered framework that empowers residents, healthcare professionals, and service providers to efficiently navigate health and social care services, facilitating better health outcomes and equitable access to services.
The workshop will reference the Canadian article "Relieving the Burden of Navigating Health and Social Services for Older Adults and Caregivers" (Funk, Laura M. 2019. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy) and its recommended policy options for improving system navigation. Presenters and attendees will describe examples of navigation improvement activities in three broad categories: population health & health equity; navigation support for primary care providers; and navigation for caregivers.
Audience: This workshop targets healthcare leaders, service providers, and community organization representatives who aim to improve access to health & social care, and to develop effective resource navigation within their communities. Service recipients, caregivers, and community members who advocate and are involved in advisor roles are also a key audience. System planners and municipal/provincial/federal government agencies and policy makers are encouraged to attend to gain insight into best practices and lessons learned.
Approach: This 60-90 minute workshop will be an interactive exploration of our journey as East Toronto Health Partners Ontario Health Team, in building an effective system navigation framework.
Our key thesis is that multi-pronged strategies are needed to address the challenges of navigating complex systems of health & social care services. Three core strategies will be presented, along with examples of navigation initiatives that we have advanced within our context as an Ontario Health Team.
For Strategy 1: "Make navigation a public concern," we will share regional work in Ontario to establish a single, coordinated Digital Front Door ("Health811") for accessing information about health care, as well as local initiatives that raise the profile of system navigation as a key requirement for caregivers and for primary care providers.
Under Strategy 2: "Improve service information," examples will include navigation hotlines, asset mapping & integration across disparate service directories, and technologies that improve efficiency of primary care practices in addressing patient inquiries.
For Strategy 3: "Expand public navigation programs," we will share programs we have implemented with dedicated navigator roles supporting primary care, and peer navigator roles supporting health promotion in equity deserving communities.
Attendees will provide additional examples within these areas to allow sharing of experiences and lessons learned across our diverse settings and health systems.
Outcomes: Attendees will leave with a range of strategies and approaches for improving system navigation of their local health and social services, and insight into potential challenges and mitigations of these barriers. We aim for attendees to be empowered with problem solving tactics and analysis garnered from sharing experiences across different countries, cultures, and regions; and motivated to take further steps to improve navigation for their communities.