The social impact of Health My Way
Reflecting on the outcomes and benefits of the 2019-21 Health My Way program
Good Things Foundation Australia’s digital health literacy program Health My Way was launched with a pilot in mid 2019, with the national program commencing in February 2020.
Health My Way is delivered by community organisations to support people aged 18 and over to gain essential digital skills and confidence accessing digital health services. Participants were supported to learn a number of digital health services and skills, such as:
- My Health Record, including privacy and access settings
- Finding reliable health and wellbeing information online
- Using health and wellbeing apps.
Good Things Foundation Australia supported participating organisations to deliver the program with training, resources and small grant funding.
With the Health My Way program due to finish in June 2021, we evaluated the effectiveness and success of the program to date on improving digital health literacy skills and related social outcomes.
The big picture in numbers
Since the commencement of the Health My Way program, 75 community partners were supported with $435,000 in small grants, training for 232 Digital Health Mentors, and three online learning courses. The work of our community partners saw over 3,000 learners supported and 6,128 people reached through digital skill workshops and community events.
A national evaluation of Health My Way found that the program had significant benefits for participants across both technical and social aspects. Our network told us that participants increased both their awareness of digital health resources and their social connections with others. 79% of participating organisations noted that the program increased participants’ access to digital health literacy support.
Our community partners and Digital Health Mentors also benefited greatly from Health My Way, with the evaluation showing:
- Community organisations increased their capability to deliver programs online, which is particularly important given changing COVID-19 restrictions
- 91% of Digital Health Mentors felt they had the skills and confidence to deliver the program
- Community organisations were highly satisfied with the resources and support provided by Good Things Foundation Australia.
The success of Health My Way is also apparent on the ground through stories from our Network.
On the ground: stories of success
Our case studies highlight the diverse implementation of the program across Australia and how learners gained confidence and independence with digital health skills.
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Seniors zoom into digital health
National Seniors Australia’s Capricornia branch is helping older Australians to take ownership of their health records and information online.
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Never too late to learn
At 93, Val is enjoying learning about managing her health online to keep her mind active.
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Taking control of online health
Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association is running Health My Way to support their community's digital health literacy.
These are just a few examples of the wonderful work our community partners have done with the Health My Way program. These experiences, combined with the feedback received from participating organisations, indicate that community-based digital health literacy programs work.
We recommend that future digital health literacy programs are funded and planned over multiple years and coordinated at a national level to further help close the digital health divide.
You can learn more about the Health My Way evaluation and what’s next by downloading the full summary below.