Health My Way

Health My Way is a Good Things Foundation program supported by the Australian Digital Health Agency.

Digital health literacy enables people to make informed, confident choices when using online information, tools and resources to support their health and wellbeing. As health services and information moves online, these skills are becoming more important than ever.

Health My Way is a digital inclusion program delivered by community organisations in our network between 2019 and 2021. It supports people aged over 18 years to gain the essential digital skills and confidence to manage their health and wellbeing. 

We started the project with a pilot in 7 communities in mid 2019. We took the learnings from this pilot and incorporated them into a broader roll out in 68 community organisations. The national program commenced in February 2020.

Good Things Foundation provided participating community organisations with ongoing support to deliver the program:

• Small grant funding
• Digital Health Mentor training and handbook
• Resources and learning materials
• Online learning modules
• Opportunities to skillshare with other organisations.

The impact of COVID-19

The onset of COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020 significantly impacted how the program was delivered to the community, right when digital health skills became even more important. Some participating organisations shifted successfully to a hybrid online/offline model during lockdowns. Others, after closing completely, returned to delivering the program. The impact of the pandemic meant that:

1. We reached the same amount of people, but in a different way, such as via online learning modules or downloadable resources on finding reliable COVID information online 
2. Digital Health Mentors’ capability to deliver digital skills programs online increased
3. The program was extended by six months to finish in June 2021.

Outcomes of Health My Way

An external evaluation of the national program found that it has a significant impact in improving participants digital health literacy. The program:

• Had a significant positive impact on the digital health literacy of learners
• Increased learners’ knowledge and confidence in use of My Health Record 
• Increased learners’ social interactions and connections

Digital Health skills participants in the program were supported to learn:

1. Introduction to My Health Record (24%)
2. Using health and wellbeing apps (16%)
3. Finding reliable health and wellbeing info online (15%)
4. My Health Record privacy and access settings (13%)
5. Other digital health topics and activities (32%)

In addition, the program positively impacted the community organisations and Digital Health Mentors involved:

• Community organisations increased their capability to deliver programs online.
• Community organisations were highly satisfied with the resources and support provided by Good Things Foundation
• The majority of organisations and Digital Health Mentors had the skills and confidence to deliver the program.

View the Health My Way resources.

The Health My Way project is running from July 2019 – June 2021.