Digital literacy initiatives addressing health inequalities
More than 2,000 people in North-West London have benefitted from digital literacy initiatives designed to address health inequalities.
The North-West London Digital Inclusion programme, led by CW+ provided digital inclusion services to more than 2,000 vulnerable people in north-west London.
CW+ is the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
As part of the NHS Charities Together Stage 2 (community partnerships) COVID Recovery Programme, CW+ funded three pilots over the course of two years to improve digital inclusion for vulnerable people. These pilots were designed to provide digital access to health, care and community resources for those lacking digital literacy skills, offering training, data and devices to improve their wellbeing and quality of life.
Two of the digital inclusion pilots provided devices, data and skills training. DigitALL, a charity consortium across the City of Westminster, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea targeted older adults and adults with learning disabilities.
Powering Recovery, led by the West London NHS Trust, worked with patients to provide greater choice between digital and face-to-face health services.
The third pilot, Hiyos Live Channel, led by Hiyos GP practice in Hounslow, delivered online content on topics relevant to addressing health inequalities.
Imperial College Health Partners (ICHP) was commissioned to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilots and found that by June 2023, DigitALL had supported around 550 individuals, achieving the greatest improvement in both confidence and frequency of internet use, with the proportion of participants using the internet weekly or daily increasing from 20% at the start of support to 100 per cent at the end of support.
At the same time, Powering Recovery had supported 105 people and also registered improvements in frequency of internet use, though from a higher baseline (65 per cent to 100 per cent). Participants also became more confident in using online health services.
Hiyos Live Channel delivered impactful workshops to over 1,500 attendees, further expanding the reach and effectiveness of the initiative.
Chris Chaney, chief executive of CW+, said: "During the COVID-19 pandemic many essential services moved online, which highlighted an already significant gap in digital literacy among some of the most vulnerable people in north-west London. This programme, supported by NHS Charities Together, sought to address that and we are delighted to have made such a positive impact on so many people.
"We are hugely grateful to our partners for their hard work in building participants’ digital skills and confidence over the past two years. The results of the evaluation show the important role digital literacy training plays in addressing health inequalities, and our hope is that the findings from this project will be picked up and adopted in other areas."
Tiblez, a DigitALL participant, said: ‘Although I tried to attend Adult Community Learning courses in the past, I found it difficult because I have a visual impairment and I only had a basic device.
"I’m from Eritrea so my priority was learning about WhatsApp, email and video calls so I could keep in contact with family and friends. The thought of being able to see their faces for the first time in years was very exciting.
"This project changed my life. I feel less lonely. I can talk to my family and order things online – and when I can’t do it, I know where to get help. All I can say is thank you to those who made it happen."
