Summary of Client’s Challenge

The University of Texas Health Sciences Consortium (UTHSC) received government funding to build a suite of eLearning courses focused on achieving behavioral health awareness.

Change by Design was hired by business partner ISF as a subcontractor to deliver on this requirement.

Determining A Unique and Engaging Content Focus For Each of the Nine Behavioral Health Awareness Modules

We began this project with a client-provided rough draft script for each of the none topics. These covered:

1.      Introduction to Behavioral Health

2.      Depression

3.      Trauma and PTSD

4.      Suicide

5.      Aging and Mental Health

6.      Serious Emotional Disturbances

7.      Bipolar Disorder

8.      Anxiety

9.      Psychosis and Schizophrenia

Because the focus of this project was to develop awareness of each of these conditions, as well as provide ways for loved ones and personnel to support individuals having one of these diagnoses, we felt it important to develop a more visceral experience of each of these diagnoses. To accomplish this, our graphic designer used the power of visuals to thematically portray the experience of a specific mental health issue. For example, for the eLearning module focused on introducing bipolar disorder, a rollercoaster-type theme was developed throughout the course that helped learners to understand the confusing up-and-down nature of this disorder.

Accessibility Requirement For Audience Members Needing Accommodation

It was determined that the audience for this series of eLearning courses may include individuals who are deaf, blind, or faced other accessibility needs. In order to properly deliver an equally functional and accessible experience for people with all types of disabilities, Change by Design built a second version of each module that would approximate the learning environment of the non-accessible version. This approach fully delivered adherence to graphical accessibility standards, including WCAG-AA.

As part of the post-production process, Change by Design extensively tested both versions of each module to ensure alignment with expectations and no challenges in terms of accessibility.

Favorable Results Led To Multi-Year Hire and An Effectively Doubling of the Deliverables

With a course viewership of over 30,000 in one year, the client was so satisfied with the high performance of their Behavioral Health Awareness (BHA) series that they commissioned Change by Design for a second year to produce another set of elearning courses. Unlike the BHA series, with its change management goal focused on attitudinal shifts, community education, and stigma reduction, the second series focused on skills improvement. The eight modules of the second series focused on the duties of long-term services and support (LTSS) personnel. These topics included:

1.      Changing Challenging Behaviors

2.      Introduction to Trauma-Informed Care

3.      Trauma-Informed Care for the Aging

4.      Navigating Agitation and Challenging Behaviors

5.      Taking A Trauma-Informed Approach to Substance Use Disorders

5.      Introduction to Substance Use Disorders

6.      Substance Use Disorders in Older Adults

7.      Chronic Pain

Contact Change by Design today if you need an evidence-based elearning design and development vendor who will produce high-profile, publicly-facing courses online that deliver results to your organization or agency.