UCI's Community Provider Database, a resource for Wellness, Health & Counseling Services was created in collaboration with the Student Health Center, Counseling Center, Campus Social Workers, and CARE (Campus Assault Resources & Education).
The database filters mental health professionals in the surrounding geographic area based on very specific criteria. Upon request, staff will search the database and provide a list of referrals to students. Upcoming enhancements will open access to this application directly to the community.
Discussion points of the session will include why certain design elements were chosen. For example, why are their 200+ fields in the provider application? The application is utilized by four separate units. Each unit has a different population which they serve. As a result, they require different information about each provider. In order for the database to be useful to all of the units, consensus was made on a dataset of 200+ fields. As a result, this many fields led to a very long form. We’ll discuss how the form was shortened to about 10 minutes with conditional fields and autocompletion.
Design elements were also based on UC Irvine’s unique surrounding area. However, the application can easily be modified for other campuses. As an example, Mental Health Professionals in South Orange County do not have a heavy dependence on referrals from the university. Therefore, it can be difficult to get service providers to continually update their data. In order to keep the information as current as possible, the application will allow staff to edit provider information directly. Additionally, automatic emails are sent reminding service providers to update their information and licensure status.
Other topics for the session include separating moderation by each unit, notes, search (with maps), mobile accessibility, printing, and exposing this data as a feed.
Presentation (reveal.js): https://whcs.uci.edu/community-provider-database/deck/
No previous knowledge is required. This discussion covers the application, its features, and why design decisions were made.