Improving Access to Ohio's Mental Health Resources

Thursday, January 08, 2009

www.mentalhealth.ohio.gov

GRIP has a history of helping client’s achieve their Web goals and objectives. One very recent project highlighting our approach has been the redevelopment of the Ohio Department of Mental Health’s Web site.

The original site contained more than 3,000 pages and 7,500 downloadable files. The site was not organized effectively to allow users to easily find the information they were seeking and did not meet many of the Web accessibility standards required. GRIP and Strategic Goverment Resources partnered with ODMH to initiate a strategic program to:

1. better provide information about mental health in Ohio in an easy-to-navigate and effective manner;
2. promote ODMH as a key resource to find help for consumers; and,
3. position ODMH as a key information resource for mental health providers, and online tools used by mental health professionals and researchers.

To understand the needs of ODMH and its constituents, Strategic Goverment Resources and GRIP organized and facilitated more than 30 personal interviews with key stakeholders. During these interviews, the team gathered information about the desired user experience, key information needed and current/future Web goals and objectives. Another key step in the information gathering process was to meet with the senior leadership team and report the findings from the interviews.

Based on the feedback and direction provided by ODMH’s senior team, GRIP began to formulate the site information architecture and overall strategic recommendations for the site. As part of the process, the team compiled a formal report of all the current content on the existing site. Combining this data with the information gained from the interviews, allowed GRIP and Strategic Goverment Resources to create a comprehensive site architecture plan that effectively organized all the desired content into easy to use and manageable sections. GRIP also recommended developing an audience-centric infrastructure so that consumers, mental health providers and board, information seekers and partners would all be able to easily access the information and tools desired.

After the site infrastructure recommendations were provided, GRIP worked with ODMH to refine the architecture and began the process of building the site. After the initial development was completed, a formal usability research program was implemented. During the usability testing, GRIP received feedback and input from more than 50 users representing ODMH’s core audiences. Specific “action plans” were created for each individual and the team oversaw and captured input from each session. A formal report was provided to ODMH describing the user sessions and providing formal recommendations for improvement.

The site was launch on January 2 and ODMH could not be more pleased with the outcome and approach taken. The department has received many compliments on the new site and the Governor's Office sent the following comments, "The site looks fantastic!!!!  This is a true testament to your extraordinary work and leadership. This is one of the best new sites we've seen."

View the site now.