Longstanding health disparities in underserved populations result in higher infection rates, disease, andchronic conditions in older and minority populations. Without referral and linkage to healthcare services andclinical trials, many individuals, including older African Americans/Blacks (AA/Bs) in particular, are unlikely toreceive the healthcare they need.The University of Florida's nationally-recognized HealthStreet program was created to directly respond tohealth disparities and serve as a one-stop portal for linking, referring, and navigating under-representedpopulations to mental health, medical, psychiatric, and social services (e.g., food pantries, jobs, and housing)through the use of community health workers (CHWs). Barriers (e.g., time required for extensive CHW training,intakes, follow-up calls, etc.) mean not enough community members (CMs) make and attend referralappointments (e.g., 27% appointment confirmation rate). Mobile health (mHealth) can address existing barriersto create a scalable program to better utilize the CHW's time.Benten Technologies proposes to design, develop and test a mHealth platform called eREACH that willsupport HealthStreet's CHWs to provide e-screenings and referrals, deliver education in the form of short,animated movies viewable on a mobile phone or tablet, and utilize virtual agents to facilitate follow up calls andthe dissemination of information. These mHealth tools will give the CHWs time to nurture a relationship withthe CM and, in so doing, build a sense of trust in the clinician-participant relationship. The Phase 1 SBIRSpecific Aims are to (1) Use formative research with AA/Bs over 60 years of age who are at-risk for diabetes,hypertension, and/or mild cognitive impairment with family members and relevant stakeholders to identify theneeds and requirements for screenings and linkage to care; and (2) Pilot test eREACH with 30 AA/Bs and theirfamily members to evaluate acceptance and feasibility. In the long term, the number of individuals identified,referred, and linked to care by eREACH will support the continuity of care needed to address various healthissues for underserved populations, increase participation rates in clinical trials and improve outreach tovulnerable senior citizens.
Public Health Relevance Statement: PROJECT NARRATIVE
The eREACH platform will facilitate screenings, referrals, and linkage of African American/Black adults over 60
years of age to care and clinical trials as part of HealthStreet's community health worker program. The platform
integrates novel features such as e-screenings, dashboards, virtual agents with natural language processing
and speech recognition capacities, and microlearning educational materials.
Project Terms: <21+ years old> 