DCP Spotlight: COPE Scotland, Digital Connectivity and Healthcare

For this month's DCP Spotlight, we hear from COPE Scotland founder Hilda Campbell

COPE Scotland has enjoyed working with colleagues in Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands (MAKI) to weave networks which support people’s health and wellbeing. As members of the Digital Citizen Panel (DCP), we recognised the importance that digital connectivity has in relation to accessing services and resources. We were delighted when Gozie came and spoke at one of our meetings. Following this session, we wanted to better understand the issues of digital connectivity people were experiencing, so listened to what people shared and created a Jigsaw Lid. The Jigsaw lid is a community engagement tool I created for COPE Scotland. A simple resource which invites people to share the pieces they feel are needed to address an issue. This is the lid created around digital connectivity.

Key points from the Jigsaw lid:

• Recognise the stress multiple emails and texts can have
• Access to computers and tablets
• Affordable Broadband for people struggling to pay bills
• In person training to use equipment and software
• Help people keep up to date with new digital developments
• Enable confidence online, use easy to use platforms
• Have option of digital as well as personal contact from services
• Investment in infrastructure for 4G for rural communities so decent access to Broadband
• Recognise barriers when people are offline to education, work, healthcare, etc
• Recognise concerns about confidentiality when meeting online
• Make sure new technologies can integrate with existing healthcare infrastructures and people can access them
• While AI has a place and learn to use to best advantage, remember the connections between people around their healthcare matters too

This went on to inspire the co design of a booklet which offered ideas on how to bring the pieces identified into people’s lives. This can be downloaded here: https://www.copescotland.com/blog/digital-connectivity-resource-booklet

With support from the Snowdrop Centre in Lochgilphead, we have also been able to have some hard copies printed as we realise for anyone not online an online version alone would not be enough.  We have shared some of these with the Digital Citizen Panel and also some panel members who plan to share in their networks.

We know from the amazing updates we receive from the DCP how quickly new developments can come on stream, so we also created within a space on our website where we share resources, a slide deck of developments around technology and Artificial Intelligence: https://www.copescotland.com/maki-resources/ai-and-tech, which we can easily updated as we become aware of new developments.

We are grateful to the members of the DCP who helped in the creation of this booklet also the Snowdrop Centre who helped us print some copies and the Q community, a connected community of people across the UK and Ireland seeking to improve health and care whose funding enabled us to establish weaving networks in MAKI possible.

For more information please contact Hilda at hildac@copescotland.com

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