University Of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia - Small Steps for Big Changes

YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program Case Study

Background

The University of British Columbia and the YMCA partnered with other organizations to deliver their Small Steps for Big Changes Diabetes Prevention Program at a number of the YMCA locations in British Columbia. They successfully moved 300+ participants through the program, but had to cease activity due to COVID-19.

Client Needs

Inherent limit to the scale of their program due to in person only sessions, local interest, geography and travel time
Necessity to go virtual due to COVID-19
Lack of participant engagement between sessions led to a decrease in retention and program completion rates
A disjointed document and resource management strategy

Our Process And Plan For Success

Discovery & immersion sessions to understand requirements followed by the development of a custom e-Coach platform:

Public facing meeting scheduler to handle inbound participant inquiries
Meeting & Communication cycles
Administrator, Coach and Participant level permission and functionality gating
Persistent in-meeting notes for counsellors
Calendaring and automated meeting reminders
In-session pre, during and post meeting forms for both counsellor and participant
Coach availability logic
Private label SSBC meeting room
Automated session recordings

How We Met The Needs Of Our Client

Reduced the administrative burden on SSBC staff, YMCA employees and program Counsellors
Improved accessibility for Participants and Coaches
Increased engagement and participant retention
Made program scalable through software and automation

The Future Of The Program

National expansion across Canada and into the United States
Deployment across the YMCA portfolio
Established leader in the diabetes prevention service delivery space
Adoption of a hybrid in-person/virtual model in perpetuity