Interactive Health Communication Project

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Opening page of Completing a Life, a resource for taking charge, finding comfort and reaching closure for patients with an advanced illness.
Completing a Life

OVERVIEW

There is a noted shortage of educational resources to help people facing terminal illness. Completing a Life is an interactive multimedia CD-ROM and web site developed to address this issue. Many content and design challenges were addressed during development. The resulting product includes a carefully crafted interplay of content, navigation, interactivity, and look-and-feel to create an approachable, empowering resource for a subject that is emotionally difficult for most people to address. Completing a Life serves as a model for medical education, combining personal stories with task-based information contained within a virtual environment.

CREATIVE MERIT

Peer Reviewed Awards:

  • 2002 Golden Web Award at http://www.goldenwebawards.com
  • 2001 Cool Site of the Day at http://www.coolsiteoftheday.com, December 2001
  • 2001 Web Author’s Choice Award, Pinnacle-Club Web Author's Choice Award, November 2001

Audience Reach:

  • CD-ROM Published by MSU Instructional Media Center in Fall 2001.
  • Available online at http://completingalife.msu.edu since Fall 2001.

Other Visibility:

  • Newspaper:
    • The project was highlighted in the New York Times article by John A. Cutter "Unlikely Guide to End-of-Life Decisions, Computer Eases Way", on Monday, September 4, 2001.
    • “New Media to Assist People with End-Of-Life Situations” By Chad Previch. The State News, November 5, 2001.
    • “Easing the end: Comfort, dignity can define the final days of loved ones” By Kathleen Lavey. Lansing State Journal. January 13, 2002.
  • Web:
    • “MSU project focuses on those dying with grace” By David Poulson. Michigan Live (mlive.com), Monday, November 19, 2001.
    • Listed in numerous health-related resource sites on the web.
  • Magazine/Other:
    • “MSU Helps Develop CD-ROM addressing end-of-life concerns”.  MSU News Bulletin, January 10, 2002.
    • 2002 Research Michigan State University Calendar
    • “Applying Strategic Planning to End-of-Life Decisions”. American Health Consultants, January 17, 2002.
    • Hospice Management Advisor. January 2002. “Applying Strategic Planning to End-of-Life Decisions.
    • “MSU Helps Develop CD-ROM addressing end-of-life concerns”.  MSU News Bulletin, January 10, 2002.
    • The Communicator, Winter 2002, “New CD-ROM Helps ‘Complete a Life”.
    • Bottom Line. June 2002.   “Useful Sites for Making End-of-Life Decisions”.
    • “End-of-Life Care Initiative Involve Faculty in Key Roles” By Tom Oswald, MSU News Bulletin, September 13, 2001.

Presentations Related to the Project by Henry Ford Hospital:

  • Lambing, A. National Conference of Gerontological Nurse Practitioners (NCGNP). Spring, 2002.  “Strategies to Improve End-of-Life Decision Making”
  • Michigan Association of Social workers and Health Care Workers (MASH). Spring, 2002.  “Completing a Life”.
  • Bricker, L. Lambing, A. Markey, C. Nunn J. “The Electronic Advance Directive Progress”.  Poster Session. Henry Ford Hospital Expo. November 2002
  • Bricker, L. Lambing, A. Markey, C.  “Enhancing Communication at End of Life”. Presentation. Henry Ford Hospice Symposia. June 2002.
  • Lambing, A. Markey, C.  “The Electronic Advance Directive”. Presentation. 12th Annual Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics, Baltimore. July 2002.
  • Lambing, A., Markey, C.  “Completing a Life CD-ROM Evaluation of Patient Outcomes”. Poster Presentation.  12th Annual Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics, Baltimore July 2002.
  • Lambing, A. “Strategies to Improve Communication of Patient Medical Decisions”. Presentation. Nurse Practitioner continuing Education (NPACE) Cape Cod. July 2002.
  • Lambing, A., Markey, C.  “Completing a Life:  An Interactive Multimedia Resource for education and Empowering Patients and Families at the End of Life”.  Poster Presentation. American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). July 2002.
  • Lambing, A. Markey, C. “Completing a Life CD-ROM Evaluation of Patient Outcomes”. Poster Presentation. Building Bridges of Excellence in Supportive & Palliative Care International Conference Windsor Ontario Canada. June 2002.
  • Lambing, A.  “Strategies to Improve communication of patient Medical Decisions”. Conference Presentation. Michigan Hospice Organization. April 2002.
  • Lambing, A.  “Strategies to Improve Communication of Patient Medical Decisions”.  Presentation.  Michigan Association of Social Workers and Health Care Workers (MASH). March 2002.
  • Lambing, A. “Communicating Patient Decisions: A Different Perspective on End-of-Life Care”. Presentation.  Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners 1st Annual Primary Care Conference (MiCNP). March 2002.
  • Bricker, L. “Advance Care Planning, To Comfort Always… End of Life Care in the Henry Ford Health System”. Presentation. Michigan Hospice & Palliative Care Organization. Spring Leadership Conference 2002.
  • Lambing, A.  “Strategies to Improve Communication of Patient Medical Decisions”. Presentation. Michigan Oncology Nurses. March 2002.

SCHOLARLY CONTRIBUTIONS

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles:

  • Ogle, K., Bricker, L., Greene, D., Winn, B., Lambing, A. Completing a Life: Content and Design Challenges in Creating Educational Multimedia Addressing End-of-Life Care. Journal of Palliative Medicine. Volume 6, number 5, 2003, Pp 839-848.

Peer Reviewed Published Abstracts:

  • Ogle, K., Bricker, L., Lambing, A., Greene, D., Winn, B., Mishkin, D. Completing a Life: An interactive multimedia resource for educating and empowering patients and families at the end of life. Journal of Palliative Medicine 5(1): 197. Abstract 2002.

Peer Reviewed Conference Papers and Posters:

  • Winn, B., Greene, D., Ogle, K., Bricker, L., Lambing, A. Completing a Life: Content and Design Challenges in Creating Educational Multimedia addressing End-of-Life Care. Conference Proceedings and Presentation. EDMEDIA 2002, June 2002.
  • Winn, B., Greene, D., Ogle, K. Completing a Life: A Resource for Taking Charge, Finding Comfort, and Reaching Closure. Conference Presentation. CHI April 2002.
  • Ogle, K., Bricker, L., Greene, D., Winn, B., Lambing, A., Mishkin, D. Completing a Life: An Interactive CD-ROM Patient Resource For End-of-Life. American Society of Clinical Oncology Program/Proceedings Publications, 2002.
  • Greene, D., Ogle, K., Winn, B. Completing a Life: A Resource for Taking Charge, Finding Comfort and Reaching Closure. Medicine Meets Virtual Reality Conference, Newport Beach, CA, January 2001.

Invited Presentations:

  • Ogle, K., Winn, B., Greene, D., Mishkin, D., Bricker, L., Lambing, A. Completing a Life Presentation. Michigan Pain Initiative Meeting, MSU October 2001.
  • Ogle, K., Bricker, L., Greene, D., Winn, B., Lambing, A., Mishkin, D., Markey, C. Completing a Life Presentation. Michigan Council Pain Initiative (MCPI). October 2001.

FUNDING

  • Completing a Life. K. Ogle, D. Greene, B. Winn. (Henry Ford Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), $200,000. Funded. Spring 2001.

ROLE

I served as Lead Multimedia Developer on the project. I worked closely with the project manager, Darcy Greene, the writer, Dan Mishken, and the content expert, Karen Ogle, to develop the project. Darcy Greene and I supervised a variety of artists and production assistants during the creation of the project. I also headed up the creation and delivery of the streaming audio and video content in the project.

VIEW THE WORK

Completing a Life is available online at http://completingalife.msu.edu.