1. If you build it, they may not come: Understanding factors influencing use of a community resource referral technology
- Author
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Fichtenberg, Caroline, Cartier, Yuri, Burnett, Jessica, Ricks-Stephen, Coiel, and Paulson, Gregory
- Subjects
Social service -- Usage ,Nonprofit organizations -- Usage ,Business ,Health care industry - Abstract
Objective: Identify factors affecting the use of a community resource referral platform among local community-based organizations (CBOs) and test strategies to increase platform use. Data Sources and Study Setting: Data sources included platform usage data and semi-structured interviews. The study took place in a small city in the Northeastern United States from 2020 to 2022. Study Design: We analyzed platform data and conducted interviews with local organizations and organizations in other communities to understand barriers to CBOs' use of the referral platform and identify strategies that might increase use. We then tested 4 strategies and assessed impacts via time trend analysis of platform usage and qualitative interviews. Data Collection/Extraction Methods: Platform usage data were obtained from the platform. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff and leaders of 36 local CBOs and 9 external organizations. Principal Findings: Four years after launch, platform use remained relatively low. None of the tested strategies (data insight reports, a referral hub, tailored training, and a communication campaign) noticeably increased platform use. The main barrier to the use of the platform was the lack of perceived usefulness, mostly because existing processes for identifying resources and referring clients worked well enough and because many organizations were already required to use a client management or referral tool. Additional barriers included the lack of comfort with and, in some cases, active dislike of e-referrals, and lack of comfort with technology tools overall. Organizations that were most likely to find the platform useful and to use it were those that provided referrals for a wide range of needs and whose staff were not already familiar with local resources. Conclusions: Organizations seeking to implement referral platforms should not assume that local CBOs will automatically take up these platforms. For these platforms to succeed, much more attention needs to be paid to ensuring the platforms provide value to the CBOs they seek to engage. KEYWORDS cross-sector care coordination, health and human services integration, health-related social needs, referral platforms, technology adoption What is known on this topic * Health care organizations are increasingly implementing community resource referral platforms to help connect patients to local social service organizations in order to address patients' social risks. * Despite widespread interest in these platforms among health care organizations, implementation is often challenging. * In particular, health care organizations often struggle to engage local CBOs, which are essential if these tools are to be effective at facilitating referrals. What this study adds * We found that after 4 years of efforts to support organizations in a small city to use one of these platforms, including testing 4 user-suggested strategies to increase engagement, only 7% of trained users in 25% of trained organizations used the platform. * Low use was principally due to the fact that the platform did not present an improvement upon organizations' existing referral processes and to organizations' lack of time and resources to implement a nonessential tool. * For these platforms to succeed, much more attention needs to be paid to ensuring the platforms provide value to the CBOs they seek to engage., 1 | INTRODUCTION Health care and public health organizations are increasingly interested in improving population health by facilitating patients' access to nonmedical resources such as food and housing. (1-4) As [...]
- Published
- 2024
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