A Project Of The Georgia Department Of Community Health
A SNAPSHOT OF THE
National Health Museum Kiosk Project
Project Summary
The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) and the National Health Museum are collaborating on a project to bring new technology to communities struggling with poor health outcomes. Since 2004, the Museum has developed and conducted nationwide testing of customized digital communication devices (or kiosks). The kiosk program has been tested in science museum and hospital environments across the country. The testing of the technology is expanding to new environments, ranging from high traffic public consumer venues to more private locations, such as patient clinics and community centers.
DCH's commitment to improving health care delivery systems, health outcomes and empowering health care consumers to make informed decisions about their health care and lifestyle habits is consistent with the Museum's mission and program objectives. The kiosk system offers providers an innovative tool with which to address patient health issues and gives local citizens an opportunity to use promising technology to learn about healthier lifestyle choices and conditions that disproportionately impact them.
Pilot Area Early County
The pilot project is in Early County in southwest Georgia. While there are various health conditions impacting the citizens of Early County, two of the most pressing issues for this community are heart health and infant mortality. Some of the conditions that can be addressed by focusing on these topics include obesity and weight control, diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, healthy nutrition, physical activity, pre-and post-natal care, childhood immunizations, newborn care and general wellness.
Key considerations in the selection of Early County as the first community to pilot the kiosk program were its combination of community resources and service-delivery environment. Representatives from all major segments of the community - health care, business, education, civic and faithbased organizations - are involved in the effort. In addition to its wealth of community resources, Early County offers well-coordinated and comprehensive health care services in one central location. The developing Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) shares space with and coordinates services provided by the DCH's Public Health county health departments. This environment creates an ideal venue for pilot testing of a kiosk because residents receive primary health care and public health services in one location.
Early County, Georgia
Dade
Catoosa
Murray Walker Whit eld
Fannin Gilmer
Towns Union
Rabun
White Habersham
Chattooga
Gordon
Pickens
Lumpkin
Stephens
Floyd
Bartow
Dawson Cherokee Forsyth
Hall Banks Franklin Hart
Jackson Madison Elbert
Polk
Cobb
Paulding
Gwinnett
Barrow Clarke Oglethorpe Oconee
Haralson
Douglas
Walton Fulton DeKalb Rock-
Wilkes
Lincoln
Carroll Heard
Coweta
Clayton
dale Newton
Morgan
Greene Taliaferro
Columbia McDu e
Fayette
Henry
Warren
Spalding
Butts Jasper Putnam
Hancock
Glascock
Richmond
Early
Troup
Meriwether
Pike
Lamar Monroe
Jones
Baldwin
Je erson Washington
Burke
Harris
Upson
Talbot
Crawford
Bibb
Wilkinson
Twiggs
Johnson
Jenkins Screven
Muscogee
Taylor
Peach
Emanuel
Chatta- Marion hoochee
Macon
Schley
Stewart Webster Sumter
Houston Bleckley
Laurens
Treutlen
Candler Bulloch
Dooly
Pulaski
Dodge
Montgomery
Wheeler
Toombs
Evans
Tattnall
E ngham Bryan Chatham
Crisp
Wilcox
Telfair
Quitman
Terrell
Lee
Randolph
Turner
Ben Hill
Je Davis
Appling
Liberty Long
Clay Calhoun
Dougherty
Early Baker
Miller
Mitchell
Worth
Irwin
Tift
Co ee
Colquitt
Berrien Cook
Atkinson
Seminole Decatur
Grady Thomas Brooks
Lanier Lowndes
Clinch
Bacon
Wayne
McIntosh
Pierce
Ware
Brantley
Glynn
Charlton
Camden
Echols
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2 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Ga 30303 w www.dch.georgia.gov January 2011
A Snapshot of National Health Museum Kiosk Project
Project Goals The overall goal of Phase 1 of the Community Kiosk Pilot Program was to create a successful kiosk prototype that can be scaled for statewide replication. The flexible kiosk project design allows for easy replication in other counties across Georgia, while its content, images and user experiences will incorporate the language, values and cultural context of Early County and future counties where it is implemented.
The project goal was achieved by accomplishing the following specific pilot project objectives:
Create a kiosk that delivers engaging and accessible information about the most pressing health issues in Early County. Through its emphasis on the key theme of prevention, the community will be provided with information on the following topics: H1N1 and Immunizations (adults and children) Diabetes Obesity Hypertension Sexual and reproductive health
Establish best practices for program replication in other communities across the state of Georgia.
Project Outcomes Database of professional experts, community champions, local citizens and health care providers Technical and training blueprint (hardware, software and procedures) for implementing health kiosks in
additional rural Georgia communities Communications and outreach toolkit for providing public health education tools and information Documentation of the project outcomes, lessons learned and test results Recommended next steps for executing Phase 2, implementing health kiosks in additional rural
Georgia communities Improved awareness of healthier lifestyle choices for the health care consumers using the FQHC and public
health services
Summary The fully implemented National Health Museum Community Kiosk Pilot Project provides a convenient vehicle for promoting healthy living in Early County and, ultimately, throughout the state of Georgia. From formative research and coalition building to summative evaluation and recommendations for future action the project's emphasis is on collaboration and coalition building. Continual engagement at the local level through site visits, stakeholder discussions, key informant interviews, focus groups and community observations is a critical success factor. DCH lends overall guidance to all aspects of the project by serving as a source of content expertise, document assessment and product planning.
For more information about this project, contact Barry Shepard at bshepard@dch.ga.gov.