Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Patient Outcomes – Vision, Integration, and Strategies for Success

Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Patient Outcomes – Vision, Integration, and Strategies for Success

The DNP project explores mental health stigma among ethnic and racial minority populations and how such stigmatization influences their health-seeking behaviors for mental healthcare services. Ethnic and racial minorities face a lot of barriers to access to mental health services, including economic and geographical barriers. However, an issue of concern influences their views on mental health and health-seeking behaviors. In my experience from my practice as a part-time nurse at OSU Medical Center DODD Hall and full-time nurse mental health nurse at Columbus Spring East, I have noted that patients from minority ethnic and racial groups visiting the psychiatric clinic hold a negative view of mental disorders, and some within the local community do not visit the clinic for assessment or treatment. A review of the literature backed these observations, noting that ethnic and racial minority groups, compared to White populations,  have limited access to and utilization of mental health services, with notable disparities in mental health outcomes, as noted by Eylem et al. (2020).

The DNP project addresses stigma by integrating technology into the management of mental health among minority ethnic and racial populations. In collaboration with the IT department at Columbus Spring East, the project created a tech-based mental health clinic by developing and implementing an EHR-integrated telepsychology/psychiatry system. The EHR-integrated telepsychology/psychiatry clinic aims to provide routine mental healthcare, patient education, and mental health therapy management.

The vision of the DNP project is to tap into the capabilities of the EHR system, including the use of the dedicated EHR patient portal to promote mental health awareness among individuals from minority ethnic and racial groups. As Ramos and Chavira (2022) have noted, technology can improve mental health outcomes among racial minorities. The overall vision is to utilize technology to create a supportive environment focused on ethnic minorities that prioritize their mental health over cultural barriers of mental health-seeking behaviors and improve the accessibility of mental healthcare services to underserved communities. Also, the project, through the use of technology, has the vision to make mental healthcare providers more culturally sensitive when delivering care to diverse patients, as well as making use of the system’s interactive features to engage patients, families, and the community in discussing mental health in a professionally-moderated environment to address culturally held negative views on mental health disorders. It will also utilize technology to provide educational materials on mental health, create community-level support groups, and promote screening and help-seeking, especially among racial and ethnic minority groups. The overall vision of the project is to make use of technology to address mental health stigma among ethnic and racial minority groups, create a safe tech-based community for mental health support, and improve the rate of utilization of mental health services among racial and ethnic minority populations.

There are multiple notable barriers, including cultural, ethical, financial, regulatory, and legal barriers. These barriers will be minimized through a community-wide outreach with a focus on educating the main stakeholders on mental health, mental health disorders, the impact of such disorders on overall health, and the benefits of using technologies such as EHR systems and telepsychology services. Stakeholders will also be educated on the use of the technology systems. Also, there will be a need to partner with donors and funders to support the acquisition of these technologies and educate providers on the need to adhere to ethics, regulations, and privacy requirements when working with mental health patients and patient information. On the other hand, the outcomes of the project will be maximized through the use of continuous feedback to further develop the project and adopt strategies, real-time conversations and chats with patients, and partnering with community health workers and social workers to promote mental health among racial and ethnic minority groups within the community.\

References

Eylem, O., Eylem, O., De Wit, L., Van Straten, A., Steubl, L., Melissourgaki, Z., Danlşman, G. T., De Vries, R., Kerkhof, A. J. F. M., Bhui, K., & Cuijpers, P. (2020). Stigma for common mental disorders in racial minorities and majorities a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12889-020-08964-3/FIGURES/6

Ramos, G., & Chavira, D. A. (2022). Use of technology to provide mental health care for racial and ethnic minorities: Evidence, promise, and challenges. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 29(1), 15–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/

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Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Patient Outcomes – Vision, Integration, and Strategies for Success

Provide a summary of your project and the integration of technology. Please include at least one in-text citation in your summary.
Share the vision of your project and the integration of your chosen technology.
Identify how you might minimize barriers and maximize the outcomes of your project
Include outside references (textbook or peer-reviewed literature) in your response