JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Patients in urban safety-net settings face substantial barriers to accessing community health resources despite the availability of resource lists embedded in electronic health record (EHR) systems. The existing EHR-based resource directories are often difficult to navigate during timeconstrained clinical encounters. Providers report that existing resource lists are often too long, inadequately filtered, and poorly suited to in-encounter use. No widely available tool allows mental health providers in safety-net settings to generate curated, county-specific, patient-ready resource lists at the point of care.

Objective:

This study aimed to evaluate the provider-level feasibility and acceptability of Bridgedd, a web-based community resource navigation tool, among licensed mental health providers at a single urban safety-net hospital. Specifically, we assessed (1) the usability of the tool, (2) its perceived value relative to existing community resource navigation tools, and (3) provider intent to adopt the tool in routine clinical practice.

Methods:

We conducted a single-site, cross-sectional feasibility and acceptability pilot of Bridgedd, a web-based provider-facing community resource navigation tool, at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. The survey instrument was investigator-developed and the project was determined to be non-human subjects research by the Emory University IRB. Licensed mental health providers used the tool and completed a brief structured survey assessing ease of use, comparative value relative to existing tools, intent to use the tool with patients, and open-ended feedback. Quantitative responses were summarized with descriptive statistics; open-ended responses were grouped into thematic categories.

Results:

Eleven licensed mental health providers (therapists, n = 4; licensed professional counselors, n = 3; social workers, n = 2; mental health counselor, n = 1; certified peer specialist–mental health, n = 1) completed the survey. Nine of 11 respondents (82%) rated the tool as very easy to use, and no respondent reported technical problems. Eight of 11 respondents (73%) agreed or strongly agreed that Bridgedd was better than the tools they currently use to help patients navigate community health resources, and 8 of 11 (73%) reported intent to use the tool with patients if made available. Open-ended feedback centered on three themes: expanded geographic coverage, greater depth within categories (particularly mental health), and a mechanism for keeping resource information current.

Conclusions:

Mental health providers at a large urban safety-net hospital found Bridgedd easy to use, preferable to existing community resource navigation tools, and potentially suitable for integration into routine practice. Findings support continued iterative development, broader provider sampling, and a planned patient-level evaluation.