Improving Rural Health Access with Mobile Clinics

As a nonprofit medical facility located in mid-coast Maine, the Knox Clinic has become an essential healthcare provider in the region, specializing in addressing local health inequities.

This project identifies, designs, prototypes and evaluates innovative models of rural, community-based care through a community-based participatory research approach. The project scope includes environmental and service design for facilities and mobile healthcare units, communication strategies, organizational and funding models and evaluating the impact of these interventions.

In the first stage, the team worked to better understand the community health needs of Knox County and plan the phase 2 deployment of the Community Health and Wellness Van. This included incorporating demographic information as data visualizations and developing a toolkit for community partners to use when working with the Knox Clinic. Additionally, the team redesigned the interior and exterior of the van, researching the specific services the van should provide, communicating about those services, and planning the locations it should park in the county.

Further stages of this project include designing digital health resources, accessible to users through an interactive interface that encourages exploration and active learning, and creating a digital dashboard to provide clear communication about mobile van locations and clinic events.

Learn more about the Knox Clinic.
Learn more about Scout Labs and the stages of this project.