Card for learning has lessons for health?
Initial brainstorms on the health project raised questions around the potential for smart cards for health. It is interesting to see that findings of a recent evaluation
by the DfES and MORI has found the Connexions Card Project - aiming to encourage young people to remain in learning and improve career and lifestyle choices - has not reached it's original aims. One observation is that the cards tend to be used only by the more highly qualified and accessible young people.
judec | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (0) | TRACKBACK (0)
Activmob Week 4 report : 'I will go down to Safeways tomorrow and say 'when I was with my personal trainer...''
Monday evening Anne Marie our personal trainer ran the first Backmob, the four participants were delighted with the experience and didn't even ache too much the next day. Anne Marie had devised a simple circuit involving exercises with a swiss ball, weights stretchy thing, trampoline and a medicine ball (3kg). Some of the participants have serious back injuries, but after some initial apprehension that Anne Marie did well to manage they got into the swing of things. (maybe it was ABBA in the background that helped) and are looking forward to next weeks session.
Initially we thought that we could devise activities that people would be able to do in their own front room, but 'getting out of doors' in itself was a clear motivator. We thought that activities could be devised which wouldn't need the support of a trainer - yet having seen the fundamental role that a trainer is playing this is difficult to imagine too.
Key functions of the trainer:
- Identified individual motivations and medical conditions
- Enhance group dynamics
- Reassurance - 'Don't look scared' - 'You will feel pain tomorrow, but it's the worst it will ever be - it's important to come back..'
- Safety - 'Don't use your hands on the swiss ball'
- Planning suitable activity
- Vary exercises for individuals abilities - 'I don't want you doing this one Sue'
- Prevent people from doing too much - 'Don't over exhert yourself - we'll do that next week'
- Encouragement - 'All of you are brilliant, your mobility is great, your form is great'
The rest of the week has been spent in London refining the system and producing the catalogue and presentations to get feedback on next week - our final week in Park Wood.
ChrisV | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (0) | TRACKBACK (0)
Motivational cards naming competition
As part of our work on the Diabetes project cards concept we are looking for a name for these cards! Some possible names are listed below - please join in and help to name a tool which can help to emphasise patient choice by helping them to take control of their care agenda. Final entries by 16th February!
Deal me in
Me in 3
Me 2
My deal
Agenda cards
Trigger cards
Pathways cards
Outlook cards
The me deck
Navigation cards
meDeck
Nick | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (2) | TRACKBACK (0)
Diabetes design - Week 2: Evaluating the support network
During the week two sessions we focused on; exploring the system and new services that could be put into place in order to best address the needs of diabetes patients; how the cards concept could work best with patients; and identifying situations in which the cards would be of most use.
Key feedback from week two was that there did appear to be a need for a person who fulfilled a role in increasing the motivation of people (where motivation is defined on the basis of being "an ability to act on knowledge".) This develops on the idea that existing treatment is knowledge-based and that some patients would benefit from additional support that helps them to act on the existing support that is being provided. In order to address the divergent needs of patients it was felt that this position should be as an independent patient champion, and that they should be able to select this person based on their specific needs.
Areas that still need to be addressed are; how long patients would have this support; how this support may relate to the Asian patients; how this fits alongside the use of the cards as a tool for more effective consultations for clinicians; how the cards could be tested; and how the motivational interviewing skills can be built into the core competence framework.
All thoughts welcome!
Nick | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (0) | TRACKBACK (0)
Activemob Week 3 Report: Of Dogs and Mammoths in Maidstone
This week we've been back in Kent and taking part in our first mob meetings starting 9:30 Monday morning with a Welliemob (dog mob) walk around Mote Park. On Wednesday Anne Marie our personal trainer joined us and has us jogging and running between trees. Given that they met last week some of the participants are already reporting the benefits:
"I feel better mentally" "It gets you out - you just get a bit depressed sometimes" "I've done more walking in the last week than the last three years, I usually only walk from Trisha to the kettle and from the car to the school gates"
One clear benefit of the group is that you feeling comfortable with people you know and aren't too worried about making a fool of yourself. The Welliemob members had found that joining an aerobics class where you don't know anyone - but they all know the steps, as a particularly harrowing experience.
We've been testing the idea of a catalogue of activities and rewards that emerged out of last weeks workshops - it certainly seem like it would work, most people are familiar with Avon, Kleeneasy, Betterware and their small format makes them very portable.
Tuesday midday oustide HSBC we started the first Timemob walk - a fascinating 1.5hour walk around Maidstone city centre led by Doug pointing out places of historical interest on the way. Amongst other things we learn about alms houses, where the mammoth was found in the high street and that 'Trebor' is 'Robert' spelt backwards.
From conversation with the group travel and entry to attractions came out as desirable awards a train ticket or mini bus hire - once the history of Maidstone is exhausted there's Chatham, Rochester, Eastbourne, Canterbury and hastings.
We've also done our first tests, with members of Backmob, of the Qualitative index, a tool to help mobbers be aware of their own physical and mental improvement as well as a way to report this improvement to the system. For a very early stage things went well but it's going to need some work.
Back in London we've been pushing ahead with prototyping the catalogue so that we are able to get responses to a first prototype the week after next. You can see work in progress on the Kent Lyons development extranet.
ChrisV | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (0) | TRACKBACK (0)
Diabetes Design Week 1 Report: Testing Initial Concepts
We started the week with an initial prototype of a tool (a deck of cards) which we hoped could be used across the board by patients and professionals and which would be supported by service redesign work that used this tool as an access route to various different services.
From our initial prototyping with patients and professionals we have developed these ideas and have seen that
Whilst:
. The key principle of providing a way for patients to set their agenda holds true
. We are still positive about the idea of the deck of cards as a valuable tool
We also need to be aware that in addition:
.There is a requirement for a new set of motivational interviewing and "people" based skills and training that can fill the space between existing services
. That some of these skills should come from new resources which form a new tier of care between GP's and the Diabetes Centre
. The cards are not a universal entry point for these services but that they are one of a series of tools which can help patients to set their own agenda
. We need to ensure that the tools are developed to reflect the environment in which they will be used
We are working on these ideas but just a reminder the next few weeks are critical so any comments from people who have been involved (or others) will help us to develop our thinking.
Nick | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (1) | TRACKBACK (0)
Activmob Week 2 Report: Feedback and Motivation
We started this week with two workshops that have moved the project on no end. There have also been four - count them - mob meetings this week, two dog mobs and Timemob and a Backmob. And while we're on stats the request for unfaclilitated mob packs now totals 15.
Our first workshop tackled motivations, we realised from our work with Anne Marie that people not only had to be motivated to start mobs, recruit members and keep them going but also to keep doing their activity and most difficult of all to push themselves further each time.
Our second workshop tackled the issues of feedback and measurement - how do we feed back to show and encourage progress, what do we base our rewards on and what do we need to measure to show an increase in activity from the perspective of Kent County Council.
READ MORE..."Activmob Week 2 Report: Feedback and Motivation"
ChrisV | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (0) | TRACKBACK (0)
Activmob Week 1 Report: Meet the mobs
The week got off to a good start with the return of our first postcard requests for our Activmob pack from someone who want's to start a Kickboxing mob, a result of all the flyering we did last week. By the end of the week we've had around another 8 requests for packs.
We spent Tuesday and Wednesday on site meeting our 3 mob instigators in their homes. Doug, a landscape archaeologist is starting a mob called Timemob . He's organising weekly walks in the area that are open to anyone and will cover a particular period each week - roman ruins, dinosaurs, houses of famous people and even ghost walks.
READ MORE..."Activmob Week 1 Report: Meet the mobs"
ChrisV | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (0) | TRACKBACK (0)
Activmobs Week 0 report: We've got a team
It's been a hectic start back but week 0 of our 6 week project in Kent has been a good one - this report is the first of a series of updates on our project as it progresses. Our new years' resolution is to make this our most open project yet, we'll be sharing details of our approach, our research and our difficulties. We'll posting work in progress and asking for your comments.
I hope to keep the posts concise and include stuff that's actually interesting to those of you on the outside - however this one's going to require a bit of an extended entry. Read more to find out about the aims of our project, what an Activmob is and the team we're working with.
READ MORE..."Activmobs Week 0 report: We've got a team"
ChrisV | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (0) | TRACKBACK (0)
RED paper 01 Launch - 18 November 2004 @ Design Council
On 18 November we hosted a round-table discussion around the first RED paper, Health:Co:creating services. The notes in this entry are an account of the ideas and comments that came out of that event. Further comment or elaboration on any of these ideas is welcomed.
READ MORE..."RED paper 01 Launch - 18 November 2004 @ Design Council"
judec | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (0) | TRACKBACK (0)
RED paper 01 - Health: Co-creating Services
The first RED paper is published today. Health: Co-creating Services by Hilary Cottam and Charles Leadbeater sets out the thinking behind our current health project. Download it here.
ChrisV | LINK | HEALTH PROJECT | COMMENTS (0) | TRACKBACK (0)