Search

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services implemented the Healthy People initiative to set national health objectives for four different decades since 1979. This national effort has promoted a shared vision for improving the health of all Americans in a very fragmented health care delivery system. The current Healthy People 2020 initiative being implemented by the Department's Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion differs from previous efforts in several important ways. This paper explores one of these changes: implementation of a new communication strategy based in modern information technology. This strategy conceptualized a Healthy People 2020 online space that would be a user-focused, 'one-stop shop' for public health and health care professionals, policymakers, and community members to learn about the objectives, plan interventions, and implement strategies to reach the 2020 objectives. The communication strategy incorporated new digital media, including building a following on LinkedIn and Twitter. At present, membership in the Healthy People LinkedIn group is more than 7700 people, and the Healthy People Twitter account (@gohealthypeople) has nearly 50 000 followers. In addition to the growth in number of users, the success of the communication strategy is also confirmed by the consistently high customer satisfaction rankings the site receives from the American Customer Satisfaction Index E-government Satisfaction Index. New developments in digital communication technology have the potential to advance three principal functions originally conceptualized for Healthy People 2020 online: benchmarking, advocacy, and connecting with others. Several exciting digital tools can be used to implement each of these key Healthy People 2020 functions, including mobile Web site optimization, smartphone/tablet apps, social media, and cloud computing. Ultimately, HHS can conduct research with Healthy People target audiences and stakeholders to inform the types of digital tools that will be most helpful to Healthy People 2020 users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doc.com© is the American Academy of Communication in Healthcare's web-based resource for learning core communication skills. To date, very few doc.com© modules have been evaluated formally. This study sought to assess four modules' effectiveness at improving internal medicine interns' communication skills knowledge. Interns were asked to complete four modules early in internship and complete web-based five-item pre/post multiple choice tests and a satisfaction survery for each module. The participation rate was 97 per cent (31 of 32 interns). Knowledge improved significantly with module completion (average pre-test score 89 per cent versus post-test 95 per cent, p = 0.006). Most (86 per cent) felt that the modules were clearly presented and met stated learning objectives, 67 per cent felt that completing the modules would improve their outpatient communication skills, and 62 per cent their inpatient skills. However, only 16 per cent indicated that the modules should replace faculty-led communication skills instruction. Although baseline knowledge of basic patient--doctor communication skills among interns was high, the use of four basic doc.com© modules improved interns' communication skills knowledge on multiple choice tests. Interns were satisfied with the modules as a curricular intervention. Use of the doc.com© modules may be a valuable adjunct to faculty-led communication skills training aimed at helping trainees achieve competency in the areas of interpersonal and communication skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]