The Holyoke
Consumer Health Library Project:
Enhancing
Consumer Access to Electronic Health Information
Final Report for Period:
September 1, 2004 Ð April 30, 2006
Contractor: National Library of
Medicine, NN/LM New England Region
Principal
Investigator:
Sandra N. Ward, MLS, President
Holyoke Consumer Health Library, Inc.
56 Nonotuck St
Holyoke, MA 01040-2666
Telephone: 413-532-4306
Email: sward@mtholyoke.edu
Lead
Institution:
Holyoke Public Library Corporation
Holyoke Public Library
335 Maple St, Holyoke, MA 01040
Community
Partners:
Holyoke Public Library
Holyoke Health Center
Providence Prenatal Center
Girls Incorporated of Holyoke
Holyoke Council on Aging
Nuestras Ra’ces
Dated submitted:
April 28, 2006
Summary:
Identification and Description of Target Population:
The specific target populations for the HCHL project were the staff and clients of these participating Community Partners: Holyoke Public Library, Holyoke Health Center, Providence Prenatal Center, Girls Incorporated of Holyoke, Nuestras Ra’ces, and the Holyoke Council on Aging. Each of these Holyoke organizations routinely contacts segments of the Holyoke community, including the general public, low-income Hispanics, women seeking health care, pregnant and parenting teenagers, teens at the Holyoke Teen Center, and older residents who come to the Senior Center for meals, activities, and services. All residents of Holyoke are potential beneficiaries of the enhanced health information services provided in this project.
Methodology:
A Consumer Health Information Coordinator was hired to train staff at each Partner site to use National Library of Medicine consumer health databases. The Coordinator worked with staff to plan and conduct health information workshops (especially MedlinePlus training) appropriate to their needs and circumstances. Internet access and computers were provided by the Partner agencies, which already had 25 public access computers and approximately 150 staff workstations at time of grant application (June 2004). We purchased portable equipment (laptop, projector, screen, printer) for the Coordinator to use while teaching workshops in various locations.
The Coordinator also assisted each Partner in implementing the modular library service, with these components:
á A virtual library (our website www.holyokehealth.info with links to NLM databases and other reliable information sources)
á A reference shelf containing a few essential books (dictionaries, guides, atlases of the human body)
á Training and mentoring in the use of virtual and reference material
Results:
As a result of this NLM-funded project, 73 people at five partner sites received training in the use of MedlinePlus.gov and other NLM databases (e.g., Clinical Trials.gov, and NIH Senior Health) as appropriate to their needs. An additional 10 people (one reference librarian and 9 pregnant teens) attended briefer sessions that demonstrated MedlinePlus, but did not provide hands-on training. Beyond these 83 people, hundreds more attended outreach events and picked up MedlinePlus promotional handouts from our HCHL Coordinator or other HCHL librarians (volunteers). Health reference books were added to each partner site, providing not only a physical reminder of ÒHolyoke Consumer Health LibraryÓ service, but also a useful starting place for health inquiries. As HCHL librarians learned more about the needs of our partners and their clients, we worked to improve sections of our virtual library www.holyokehealth.info in response. For instance, our teen health page was significantly revised. We also added a Guides section as a place to distribute curricular materials such as the ÒCriteria and Tips for Evaluating Health Web SitesÓ handout prepared by our Coordinator.
These accomplishments and the challenges (impediments) involved are discussed in the following sections:
1. Training
2. Collection Development (Reference Shelf and Virtual Library)
3. Outreach and publicity
4. Evaluation and Conclusion
1. Training
A total of 22 training workshops (reaching 73 people in 5
sites) were conducted. In the first quarter, the Coordinator
designed a customized curriculum focusing on challenges to providing health
information in the various partner contexts as well as a comprehensive review of
MedlinePlus, Clinical Trials.gov, and NIH Senior Health. This
curriculum was based heavily on existing NLM and
NN/LM training models, but tailored for our Holyoke partners using information
provided by our key contacts and by staff surveys. We have received
positive evaluation forms after each training, and have heard since that people
like MedlinePlus, are using it, and have found it useful with their clientele.
At the Holyoke Public Library (HPL) we achieved our goal of providing training to all staff working in public service. At the Holyoke Teen Center we trained the Peer Education Coordinator. At Providence Prenatal Center (PPC) we trained 8 staff in spring 2005 and provided a refresher in August, catching a few new staff in the process. At the Council on Aging (CoA) we trained the Health Outreach coordinator, an RN who is now an outspoken advocate for MedlinePlus and HCHL. She now uses MedlinePlus often. It has really helped her serve her clients at the Senior Center. She prefers it to all the pamphlets she used to stock and hand out. People come in asking her to do searches, so she knows word has spread that the Senior Center has access to good health information.
At the Holyoke Health Center (HHC) we trained 42 staff, far exceeding our initial expectations. The workshops taught in May 2005 were so well received that additional workshops were quickly scheduled for June and July. HHC HIV/AIDS Program Manager Gail Gramarossa coordinated the sign-up process and scheduling of staff to be trained. Gail reported that some staff told her they now use MedlinePlus on a daily basis. Gail was extremely pleased with the training and excited about the implications for HHC staff development. Gail and the HHC administration decided in June 2005 to hire the HCHL Coordinator for additional hours under one of their existin