School Based Health Center

Exciting News

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Exciting News |

Thanks to this research, the School-Based Health Center has successfully secured increased funding and expanded its reach by establishing a second location!

The study's findings and recommendations provided a robust foundation for advocating and implementing positive changes, ensuring enhanced healthcare access and services for students.

Overview

Brief

Facilitate user research for a school-based health center (SBHC), using a human centered lens to assess community needs, engagement, and accessibility.   Coordinate with physicians, mental health professionals, teachers, parents, and students to identify the unique needs of people from differing cultures, backgrounds and abilities. Explore, present, and enact ideas to increase health and wellbeing through program development and service design.

My role

Lead Researcher and Designer

The team

Medical Director, SBHC Manager, District Communications Director, School Administration

Timeline

June 2022 - July 2023

Project Goals

  • Identify and learn about needs of students, parents and teachers in school/community.  

  • Research similar programs and industry standards

  • Identify needs and processes of SBHC staff

  • Look at areas of redundancy and possibilities for growth

  • Identify ways potential clients find and utilize services

  • Devise means to provide information and access to those who have not previously used SBHC services but who are interested in them.

Hypothesis & Findings Summary

We expected people to say they don't use the SBHC because it does not offer services they need or that the schedule/location does not meet their specific needs. 

We learned that students and parents don’t use the SBHC because they:

  • don't know what it offers

  • don't know how to access it

  • don't know if they are eligible

  • don't know what cost or health insurance is required

We learned that teachers don't refer student to the SBHC because they:

  • don't know what it offers

  • don't know the protocol

  • don't know who is eligible

  • don't know when parental consent/other paperwork is needed

Recommendations Summary

  • Clear and comprehensive communication strategy to initially inform and keep parents, students and teachers updated about the SBHC

  • Create a  tool (such as a flow chart or infographic) to clarify the services offered , eligibility and the referral process

  • Develop collaborative partnerships with groups inside and outside the school (such as the athletic dept, coaches, local mental health orgs, etc) with the intention of engaging students who might not otherwise know about or use the SBHC

  • Continue facilitating presentations, workshops and orientations that inform parents, teachers, and students about the health center's offerings

  • Use student ambassadors and peer education programs to educate students about the health center's services

  • Implement surveys and feedback mechanisms to gauge the awareness of and satisfaction with the health center's services

  • Explore ways to use the website, student/teacher portals and social media.  Specifically, ways to add more information about what services are offered and how to access them

Research

I began this research by assessing existing information about school based health centers and similar community health programs.

Then I moved into generative and exploratory research conducting individual interviews with students, parents, staff and experts, taking care to engage with a diverse group of people who accurately reflect the school’s population.

All students, parents and teachers were also invited to fill out a survey.

24 Interviews

9 Staff | 5 Parents | 10 Students

3 Surveys

Sent out across the school District

Parents, Staff and Students from all District 207 High Schools were invited to participate in live, one on one Interviews about their experiences as well as Surveys geared toward each group

Interviews

From December 2022 - March 2023, we held 24 individual interviews with teachers, parents, students.  

These interviews were facilitated in a person-centered style, allowing the participant’s to share their experiences and thoughts about the SBHC as they felt comfortable.

Surveys 

After the interviews were complete, surveys were sent out to the entire school district with the intention of exploring themes from the interviews with a larger group of participants. 

Research Objectives

  • Identify and learn about needs of students, parents and teachers in school/community as related to SBHC

  • Learn what services would benefit students, parents, teachers the most 

  • Learn how people find services offered at SBHC

  • Explore community awareness of the SBHC (teacher, student, parent)

  • Learn about pain points and challenges people experience when looking for and scheduling services at the SBHC

  • Look at areas of redundancy and possibilities for growth

  • Generate ideas to provide information and access to those who have not previously used SBHC services but who are interested in them

Findings

Overview

  • People love the School Based Health Center and think that it is an excellent resource

  • People who know about it and have used it are surprised that more people don't use it

  • People were only confident about the services they had actually used and did not know the extent or details about other services

    • People frequently asked in the interviews "oh, do they offer such and such? That would be so great"

    • When asked what other services they wished the SBHC offer, people often listed services that are already offered at SBHC or declined to answer because they said they weren’t sure what was already offered

  • There was a general desire to have quick and clear references about what is available from SBHC, who can use the services and how they can be accessed

  • Parents, teachers and students all called out the need for mental health care

  • Many teachers, parents and students said they learned about the SBHC through the athletic programs and sports physicals

  • Convenience was seen as a significant benefit to parents and students

  • Access to low cost or free services was seen as  a significant benefit to parents and students

  • Development of life skills and comfort level with seeking out medical care was seen as a benefit to students

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