[Development of an ICT utilization checklist for community-workplace collaboration promotion programs in local government: Consensus through a two-round Delphi study]

Objective　To develop a checklist for utilizing information and communication technology (ICT) in community-workplace collaboration programs implemented by local government, based on a consensus among municipal personnel responsible for these programs in organizations utilizing multiple ICT tools.Methods　Using data from a questionnaire and interview surveys conducted in 2022-2023, a checklist comprising seven domains was drafted: online meetings (eight items), e-mail newsletters (seven items), websites (eight items), live online seminars (eight items), on-demand online seminars (eight items), health-related applications (nine items), and common foundational items across ICT utilization (eight items). The expert panel was selected from a nationwide survey conducted in June 2024 among prefectures and public health centers with community-workplace collaboration councils. Personnel responsible for community-workplace collaboration programs were invited from 54 organizations in which five or more ICT tools were utilized. A two-round Delphi study was conducted using an initial checklist based on the findings of the questionnaire and interview surveys. Participants rated the importance of items on a five-point scale, reported their implementation status, and provided open-ended comments. Consensus was defined as an agreement rate ≥70%, a median importance score ≥4, and an interquartile range ＜1.5.Results　Responses were obtained from 39 of 54 organizations (72.2%) in the first round, and 35 of 39 (89.7%) in the second round. The items were revised after the first round. In the second round, 55 items had an agreement rate ≥70%, and 53 items had an agreement rate ≥80%. The final checklist comprised 55 items across the seven domains: online meetings (eight items), e-mail newsletters (seven items), websites (eight items), live online seminars (eight items), on-demand online seminars (seven items), health-related applications (nine items), and common foundational items across ICT utilization (eight items).Conclusion　Using the Delphi method, a checklist was developed that encompasses the preparation, organizational and operational systems, implementation strategies, and evaluation components necessary for ICT utilization in community-workplace collaboration programs. Organizations can assess their Internet infrastructure and organizational readiness using the common foundational items before selectively applying the domain-specific checklists based on the ICT tools being implemented. The checklist may also assist organizations that are already using ICT, to periodically evaluate its effectiveness. Despite achieving consensus for all checklist items, several items related to budget, operational systems and evaluation had low implementation rates, indicating a necessity for strategies to enhance effective ICT utilization.