Blog

Terika McCall, an assistant professor of Health Informatics at the Yale School of Public Health, is focusing attention on one of the most important aspects of mental health care: access to care. She believes that mental health apps offer significant opportunities to address the issue, but notes that many of the mental health apps available on the market do not really meet the need for support of individuals from minoritized populations. One reason for this situation, according to McCall, is failure to include the intended users in the design process. “They often go for the ‘low-hanging fruit’ of individuals that are more affluent, and primarily White. Then wonder why the user engagement and health benefits don’t translate to Black and Brown communities.”

McCall is working to remedy the situation by promoting inclusive design. In defining the problem, McCall explains that an examination of the participant breakdown of studies reveals who is not included, and she believes that unless we are purposeful about making sure those communities are represented, we will not know what users in those communities need.

“I want to be clear that technology will not solve all the problems with accessing quality mental health care. However, technology should be used as a tool to deliver affordable and culturally informed care to communities that are underserved. The scalability of tech has the ability to start to level the playing field, if we work with community members to create digital mental health tools.” said McCall.

As the founding director of the Consumer Health Informatics Lab (CHIL) at Yale, a research lab that designs and evaluates consumer health products, she is well-positioned to amplify the call for more inclusive design processes. She also teaches a graduate course entitled “User-Centered Design of Digital Health Tools” at Yale School of Public Health.

Dr. McCall’s background includes a Ph.D. in Health Informatics. In fact, she was the first student to graduate from the Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP) with the advanced degree. She previously earned an MBA in Management from Wake Forest University School of Business and also holds an MPH in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

McCall focuses on leveraging technology in order to provide mental health services and resources to communities that are underserved. At CHIL, many of her projects involve developing mobile apps because mobile phones can be used by individuals who may have difficulty receiving support any other way. She is in the process of developing an app that will help to support Black women manage their anxiety or depression.

While acknowledging that mobile/smartphone applications will not resolve some of the larger systemic issues that result in inequities in access to care, McCall believes they can go a long way in helping to mitigate the barriers to healthcare services disproportionately experienced by marginalized populations. She also expressed her appreciation of the Yale School of Public Health for recognizing how important it is to design solutions with the input of minoritized communities.

The post Yale Assistant Professor of Jamaican Descent Fighting to Narrow Digital Health Divide for People of Color appeared first on Jamaicans.com.

Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, which has been named the Leading Airport in the Caribbean by World Travel Awards for 14 years, is about to become a world-class facility via a major modernization and upgrading project. Stakeholders and business interests expect the airport’s transformation will result in providing features on par with those in developed nations.

Some of the developments that will bring the airport to a world-class level include the expansion of the runway built at a cost of US$70 million, the opening of the first Bob Marley/One Love-branded restaurant in the world, expansion of the immigration hall and departure lounge, and upgrades of landside roads, parking arrangements, and outbound security. According to Delano Seiveright, the senior strategist in Jamaica’s Tourism Ministry, when all the projects are completed, Sangster will compare with London’s Heathrow and airport facilities in Atlanta, JFK, Qatar, and Dubai.

Seiveright added that guests flying into Jamaica will immediately experience a “wow” factor. MBJ Airports Limited, the operator of the airport that links Jamaica will over 60 global destinations, should be praised for the work and vision making all this possible, he said, noting that the Bob Marley One Love restaurant and the extension to the runway will be “something else.”

Shane Munroe, CEO of MBJ, said the plan does not only modernize the airport but makes it so appealing at an aesthetic level that it will take actually function as an attraction itself. Sangster is the busiest gateway to Jamaica and the top airport in the region with some 4.7 million passengers using the facility in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down. MBJ is committed to raising the bar for the airport in order to facilitate a seamless experience for travelers. Munroe also noted additional work being done to modernize Sangster and improve its infrastructure, including enhanced queuing and processing capacity through an expansion of the immigration hall and the construction of a lounge to provide dedicated arrivals space for air-to-sea passengers. The landside road and parking infrastructure are also slated for expansion to raise their capacity.

According to Munroe, the runway expansion is on schedule and is to be finished by June 2023. It will allow for Runway End Safety Areas to comply with requirements imposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to improve safety in the area.

The post Sangster International Airport to Become World-Class Through Upgrades appeared first on Jamaicans.com.