Mobile Health Units/Clinics (MHU) are models that assist in overcoming barriers. The MHU model supports delivery of services to isolated areas or small towns that may have limited or no access to healthcare providers. Services may include many point of care options, including telehealth options to promote health and wellness. How can you ensure that your organization is providing a service that is professional and evidenced based? Consider the following;

Best Practice, is defined as, commercial or professional procedures that are accepted or prescribed as being correct or most effective". In the clinical setting you will hear practitioners talk about evidence based practice. Evidence based practice (EBP) is a process used to review, analyze, and translate the latest scientific evidence. The goal is to quickly incorporate the best available research, along with clinical experience and patient preference, into clinical practice, so nurses can make informed patient-care decisions (Dang et al., 2022). Simply stated, best practice or EBP in relation to Mobile Health Unit care means incorporating policy and procedures into clinical practice that are correct, effective, and backed up by research and experience.

The MU Extension Mobile Health Unit (MHU) team learned many valuable lessons through practice and research. We utilized many wonderful external resources to ensure that we were implementing best practice into our model. Some of our most valuable takeaways include the following:

Collaboration, it is key to build and nurture strong partnerships. Success of events is linked to support of local partnerships, local partners are integral to marketing, promoting, and onsite assistance at events. Collaboration and coordination are key to success and we observed that we experienced the more turnout when events were promoted by local community groups.
Location, Location, Location! Do not overlook the value and impact of where your event is located. Not all locations are created equal, our team learned that high visibility, areas with increased recognition, and traffic all supported successful events.
Marketing and Promotion, how you ensure delivery of genuine customer value. If an event is promoted well you will experience good turn out, the community will demonstrate buy-in through use. Partnerships are a great way to coordinate these efforts to support community engagement and use. Tapping into community groups and leveraging your partnerships is a wonderful way to connect with the community and it ensures that promotion efforts are targeted to the community you are providing services to. We primarily utilized local partner promotions (I.e. Chamber of Commerce/Food Pantry), social media sites, newspapers/radio, and printed flyers.
Strategic Planning, define the goals and project outcomes based upon data. Data will establish a strong foundation, a needs assessment is a great place to begin!
- How to Conduct a Community Needs Assessment_CDCpdf.pdf
- Create policies that support success, for example Inclement Weather policy and training policy.
Evaluation, assess if your processes produced the desired outcomes. It is only through evaluation that value exists, this is key to success and ensuring longevity of your program. As a team we implemented both formal and informal evaluation processes; these encompassed team meetings, formal after-action debrief reports, and partner and participant surveys. We welcomed feedback because that is how we improve.
Attention to detail! MHU's expand accessibility, especially for remote, rural, underprivileged communities. It must be stated, accessibility also means attention to accommodations and assessing if your unit is accessible to the elderly or disabled. Some of your clients may not be able to benefit from your services due to setup. Flexibility and backup plans are key to promoting accessibility while in the field.
Delivery of services; define your processes and understand each individuals role. If you are merely integrating new services into your current workflow or office this may not be an issue but if you are adding a mobile health clinic to your menu of services the details matter. Defined workflow, roles, and setup contribute to successful events. Planning for site location, setup and breakdown, staffing needs (lunch and breaks), scheduling to limit client wait times, and identifying productive operation hours are all key elements to successful, non stressful event days.
Promote health and wellness through education. Provide tailored education to clients, we recommend providing information about health services available in your area, information on cholesterol/ blood pressure/diabetes as necessary, information on adult vaccines including COVID-19, and enrollment information for MO Health Net as needed. All of these resources can be found on our Canvas modules for providers, and a separate patient-focused Canvas course is available.
- Provide education resources for non-English speaking participants.
Cost, can your organization afford to offer Mobile Health Unit Services? Explore grant writing and funding resources to supplement your MHU.
- Here is an excellent text introducing you to the grant writing process, Carlson, Mim, 1950-. (2002). Winning grants step by step : the complete workbook for planning, developing, writing, successful proposals. San Francisco :Jossey-Bass.
- Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) – Funding & Opportunities
- OPHI Grant Resources
Keywords from the team: Flexibility, Have Fun, Don't take yourself too seriously, be a teamplayer, celebrate the wins and learn from the challenges.

Helpful Resources:

Rural Transportation Toolkit

Debrief Template_MHU.pdf

Resource_VA Mobile Health Practice Guide

These are examples of health fair planning but the strategies easily apply:

Health_Fair_Protocol.pdf

health_fair_planning_guide.pdf

Useful structure models that can guide on the ground processes:

Incident Command System Training Resource

Interesting Reading:

ULTIMATE GUIDE TO STARTING A MOBILE MEDICAL PROGRAM

Yu SWY, Hill C, Ricks ML, Bennet J, Oriol NE. The scope and impact of mobile health clinics in the United States: a literature review. Int J Equity Health. 2017 Oct 5;16(1):178. doi: 10.1186/s12939-017-0671-2. PMID: 28982362; PMCID: PMC5629787.