In 2021, CW+ took the lead on digital inclusion in north-west London when we launched a two-year pilot programme that aimed to improve digital inclusion for vulnerable people.
The £1.23m two-year programme was part of the NHS Charities Together Stage 2 (community partnerships) COVID Recovery Programme. It aimed to address inequalities in the area by improving access to the increasing number of digital services that had moved online during and following the pandemic.
The three selected pilots were designed to improve the wellbeing and quality of life of people who lacked digital literacy skills. They provided training, data and digital devices, enabling participants to access digital health, care and community resources. More than 2,300 people in north-west London benefited from the programme.Â
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.
Two of the pilots provided devices, data and skills training. DigitALL, led by OpenAge, enabled older adults and adults with learning disabilities to achieve personalised goals, while Powering Recovery, led by West London NHS Trust, worked with patients to enable them to have greater choice between digital and face-to-face health services.Â
The third pilot, Hiyos Live Channel, led by Hiyos GP practice in Hounslow, delivered online content on topics relevant to addressing health inequalities, starting with work experience sessions on NHS careers.
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.
As of June 2023:Â
Participants reached by the pilots were diverse, and over-representative of people from the global majority (in the case of DigitALL and Powering Recovery) and from some of the most deprived postcodes in the country (in the case of Hiyos).Â
Imperial College Health Partners was also funded to conduct an independent evaluation on these pilots. The evaluation was based on a ‘before-and-after’ design and measured key outcomes at the start and end of each pilot to identify the changes.
For DigitALL and Powering Recovery, outcomes included wellbeing. Part of the theory was that if people were empowered to use digital skills to achieve their personal goals, their wellbeing in general would also improve as a result.
Evaluation report
Read about the evaluation in more depth in the final programme report:
DigtitALL achieved 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% at the end of support.Â
Participants also showed improved confidence in looking up information on the internet and accessing health services online.Â
At the start of the pilot, participants reported much lower wellbeing than average levels in their home boroughs. At the end of the support period, self-reported wellbeing levels of participants had improved, though this cannot be conclusively attributed this to the pilots due to the absence of a control group.
Powering Recovery registered improvements in frequency of internet use (albeit from a higher baseline than DigitALL), with an increase from 65% to 100% of participants using the internet weekly or daily.Â
Participants also showed improved confidence in looking up information on the internet and accessing health services online.Â
At the start of the pilot, participants reported much lower wellbeing than average levels in their home boroughs. At the end of the support period, self-reported wellbeing levels of participants had improved, though this cannot be conclusively attributed this to the pilots due to the absence of a control group.
Hiyos Live Channel had a different aim: to deliver health-relevant content to participants via social media and online workshops.Â
At the end of the sessions, more than 90% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that they felt greater confidence in managing their career, and more than 90% reported that they had intentions or concrete actions in place to take up a career in healthcare. At least 35% of participants attributed these intentions to the Hiyos workshop.Â
Although I had 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.
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