Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre, Iqaluit, Canada.
Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
Can J Public Health. 2020 Oct;111(5):694-700. doi: 10.17269/s41997-020-00311-8. Epub 2020 Mar 26.
One of the greatest challenges of Nunavut's health care system is its reliance on short-term professionals, many of whom are not oriented to the Inuit historical/cultural context and the organization of health care in the territory. Our objective was to develop a free iOS/Android app to address this knowledge gap.
We reviewed existing literature and interviewed key stakeholders to develop the content of the app covering the following: Inuit ways of communicating and expectations in the health care setting; Inuit history, settlement, and societal values (including a bibliography and a list of Inuktitut language phrases and resources); health care model (including referral pathways for tertiary care and mental health referrals); maps and community information; and useful information to prepare for your arrival. The app, HealthNU, was launched in September 2017. We targeted new and short-term health care providers in Nunavut, and the app has also been circulated and used by social workers, educators, and health care providers outside of the territory.
By September 5, 2019, the app had been downloaded more than 700 times. To evaluate the app, we conducted interviews and a brief survey with key stakeholders (n = 18), who indicated that (1) the app was easy to use; (2) the content was highly relevant and would result in improved cultural competencies; and (3) they would recommend the app to colleagues and were already using it for recruitment/orientation. Challenges and limitations included: ensuring practitioners "completed" all modules while reading/using the app, and low response rate among providers who were solicited for feedback.
HealthNU is an example of how technology solutions developed in partnership with community members, health care providers, researchers, and government can improve the quality of care for Nunavummiut. We are currently working with the Nunavut Department of Health to develop similar apps in other contexts.
努纳武特地区医疗体系面临的最大挑战之一是依赖短期专业人员，其中许多人并不了解因纽特历史/文化背景以及该地区的医疗保健组织方式。我们的目标是开发一个免费的 iOS/Android 应用程序来解决这一知识差距。
我们回顾了现有文献并采访了关键利益相关者，以开发涵盖以下内容的应用程序：因纽特人在医疗保健环境中的沟通方式和期望；因纽特历史、定居和社会价值观（包括参考书目和因纽特语短语和资源列表）；医疗保健模式（包括三级保健和精神保健转诊的转诊途径）；地图和社区信息；以及为您的到来做准备的有用信息。该应用程序名为 HealthNU，于 2017 年 9 月推出。我们的目标人群是努纳武特地区的新入职和短期医疗保健提供者，该应用程序也在该地区以外的社会工作者、教育工作者和医疗保健提供者中传播和使用。
截至 2019 年 9 月 5 日，该应用程序已被下载超过 700 次。为了评估该应用程序，我们对关键利益相关者（n=18）进行了访谈和简短调查，他们表示：（1）该应用程序易于使用；（2）内容非常相关，将提高文化能力；（3）他们将向同事推荐该应用程序，并已将其用于招聘/入职。挑战和限制包括：确保从业者在阅读/使用应用程序时“完成”所有模块，以及在被征求反馈意见的提供者中响应率较低。
HealthNU 是一个例子，说明了如何通过与社区成员、医疗保健提供者、研究人员和政府合作开发技术解决方案来提高努纳武特人的医疗质量。我们目前正在与努纳武特卫生部合作，在其他背景下开发类似的应用程序。
