Data from: Establishing the Digital Health Equity & Literacy Program (D-HELP): A student-led initiative to address digital health literacy gaps among emergency department patients at Rush University

The objective of this study was to describe the development and early
implementation of the Digital Health Equity & Literacy Program
(D-HELP), a student-led quality improvement initiative to promote digital
health engagement in the emergency department (ED). Trained student
volunteers at Rush University Medical Center delivered in-person education
on Epic MyChart and Rush On Demand telehealth services in English and
Spanish. Eligible adult patients were identified through the EHR and
engaged when clinically appropriate. Over 4 months, 94 patients were
approached, with 64 (68 %) receiving some level of intervention.
Volunteers documented encounter type, interpreter use, and unsolicited
patient feedback. MyChart invitations were sent to 27 patients, with 7
registering on-site. D-HELP demonstrated feasibility, flexibility, and
strong patient receptiveness in the ED setting. The model’s low-resource,
student-driven design supports scalability and provides a framework for
expanding digital health literacy initiatives across diverse clinical
settings while addressing social determinants of digital access.