Co-Design of strategies to enhance access to Virtual Urgent Care models by equity-deserving populations
Virtual urgent care (VUC) was introduced in 2020 across the province of Ontario, Canada, during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide urgent care for lower-acuity health needs for patients who did not require in-person care. Persons from equity-deserving populations (EDPs) often face barriers in using virtual models of care. To raise awareness and improve uptake of VUC among EDPs, a World Café was organized that convened a diverse group of individuals from healthcare, community, research, and/or people with living/or lived experience of health conditions to co-design VUC outreach strategies. The panel consisted of 36 persons (22 invitees; 14 members of the study team) who participated in a one-day, in-person event to reflect on key considerations related to VUC delivery for EDPs through facilitated small and large group discussions. We recorded all discussions via note-takers and analyzed the notes using content analysis. From this analysis, we identified three categories: a) lack of awareness about VUC and accessibility barriers; b) addressing issues of digital literacy and ensuring the perceived credibility of VUC; and c) opportunities for advancing VUC. Given the potential of VUC to serve as a culturally safe modality for EDPs, the World Café event served as a meaningful opportunity to exchange knowledge on health equity and to co-design strategies for improved awareness and uptake of VUC by EDPs.
Authors
- Logan Reis
- Akm Alamgir (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4804-6609)
- Cynthia Zhang
- Sandra Mills (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9152-3935)
- Cliff Ledwos
- Justin N. Hall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6211-9336)
- Ezza Jalil
- Marina Motsenok (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1532-9461)
- Sander L. Hitzig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9139-9250)
- Shaun Mehta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2111-167X)
- I. Siqueira
- Kimberly Devotta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0401-2539)
- Shelley L. McLeod (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2686-6307)
- Umberin Najeeb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1652-9959)
- Christine Sheppard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6487-3287)
- Triti Khorasheh
- Rosanra Yoon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3745-5933)
- David Rosenstein
- Maarib Kirmani Haseeb
- Katrine Pilested
- Emily Huynh
- Johnathon Orr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8359-4452)
- Jiayu Zhang
- Yomna H.E. Ahmed
- Talitha Brush
- Courtney F. Kupka
- Rozhannaa Sothilingam
- Simone Stothers
- Sarmitha Sivakumaran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6519-7320)
- Rhea Alitawi
- Wendy MacLellan
- Kosal Ky
Institutions
- St. Michael's Hospital (CA)
- Sunnybrook Health Science Centre (CA)
- University Health Network (CA)
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CA)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- York University (CA)
- Wellesley Institute (CA)
- Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (CA)
- Hospital for Sick Children (CA)
- Women's College Hospital (CA)
- Toronto East General Hospital (CA)
- Health Sciences Centre (CA)
- Alzheimer Society of Canada (CA)
- Public Health Ontario (CA)
- Schwartz/Reisman Emergency Medicine Institute (CA)
- Shared Services Canada (CA)
- Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services (CA)
- Sunnybrook Research Institute
- Unity Health Toronto
Publication Details
- Journal
- PLOS Digital Health
- Published
- 2026-04-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0001368
- Primary Topic
- Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Health Sciences Centre Foundation
- University of Toronto