COVID-19 – How to effectively communicate the need for change?
The COVID-19 pandemics has proven to be a catalyst of change and of greater demand for coordinated and integrated health and social care services, with healthcare professionals and citizens at the centre of this change. This includes the need for effective communication strategies, including both top down and informal strategies via social media, in order to build the necessary knowledge and skills in managing this pandemic. Training and awareness-raising strategies and programmes on communication between professionals and wider public is an emerging trend across health and social care systems in Europe and worldwide. It is therefore vital to encourage the countries and regions to share their knowledge and experience in implementing these strategies and programmes.
ECHAlliance Integrated Care Thematic Innovation Ecosystem has been set up to facilitate the sharing of good practices, exchanging ideas and gaining new knowledge. In collaboration with the EU Health Programme co-funded project SCIROCCO Exchange and Scottish Digital Health and Care Learning Network, the Ecosystem offers the opportunity to share the experience of Scotland and Lithuania in managing the communication and training strategies in response to COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, this knowledge exchange webinar will feature examples of:
- Effective communication strategies
- Training of healthcare professionals on the forms of communication
- Training of citizens on the forms of communication
- Healthcare literacy initiatives.
The outcomes of this webinar will inform about the objectives and aspirations of newly established Integrated Care Thematic Innovation Ecosystem and opportunities for collaboration. It will also help to gain the knowledge of other regions and countries in communicating the need for change in response to COVID-19 and accelerate the learning and potential adoption of this knowledge at local and regional level.
| Time | Session Title |
| 5min | Welcome and Introduction Dr Andrea Pavlickova, International Engagement Manager, Scottish Government |
| 5min | Integrated Care Thematic Innovation Ecosystem Andy Bleaden, Director Ecosystems and Membership, ECHAlliance |
| 10min | Approaches to communicate the need for change to wider public – Learning and experience in Scotland Maimie Thompson, Communications and Engagement Manager, Technology Enabled Care Programme, Scottish Government |
| 10min | Use of technology to deliver awareness raising and training remotely during COVID-19 pandemic – Learning and experience in Scotland Marc Beswick, National Lead – Near Me Network, Technology Enabled Care Programme, Scottish Government Gail Nash, AHP Practice Education Programme Lead, NHS Education for Scotland |
| 10min | Communication strategies and healthcare literacy initiatives in Lithuania Rokas Navickas, Vilnius University Hospital, Lithuania |
| 15min | Facilitated discussion Dr Andrea Pavlickova, International Engagement Manager, Scottish Government Andy Bleaden, Director Ecosystems and Membership, ECHAlliance |
| 5min | Concluding remarks and next steps Dr Andrea Pavlickova, International Engagement Manager, Scottish Government |
