Creating a Virtual Meeting Platform Via Online Survey Tool: Leveraging Community Engagement Technology in the Early Days of COVID-19

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Alabama’s Title V Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) team was forced to innovate in order to gather community input and to prioritize the findings of the 2020 Title V Maternal and Child Health Five-Year Comprehensive Needs Assessment. On a shortened timeline, the team pivoted from a full-day, in-person meeting of professionals and family representatives to an asynchronous, online “meeting” that included all planned and necessary content, allowed for comment by community members, and resulted in a prioritized list of needs. This needs assessment process showed that by using a platform like the online survey tool, Qualtrics, in an innovative way, programs can capture broader, more diverse perspectives without sacrificing quality of communication, content, or feedback. It shows the possibility for strengthening maternal and child health (MCH) systems and other systems of care though rich engagement. This model can be easily replicated in other survey tools, benefiting other states that are faced with difficulties convening geographically dispersed professionals and communities.