Where Am I to Go? Use of the Internet for Consumer Health Information by Two Vulnerable Communities

The elderly and African Americans are groups sometimes described as vulnerable or at risk for health complications, and both are communities for whom consumer health information is believed to be important. A review of recent research literature on the information behaviors of these two special populations is provided, and information is presented from the research literature about the use of the Internet by the elderly and by African Americans. Both groups seem to prefer information from their health care providers and/or from established sources, but both groups do seek consumer health information and are increasingly using the Internet for information searches. The characteristics of desirable Web-based consumer health information for these groups are presented, as well as tools or tips that are available for evaluating Web-based consumer health information for these special populations. Finally, specific consumer health Web sites that provide quality information and that are especially useful for the elderly and for African Americans are identified.published or submitted for publicatio

Library and Information Science Education for the New Medical Environment and the Age of Integrated Information

published or submitted for publicatio

Specialists as Professionals in Research Libraries: An Overview of Trends and an Analysis of Job Announcements

published or submitted for publicatio

The "Lunch With a Scientist" Project: An Information Behavior Study in an Academic H

This poster addresses the iConference themes of ???What is ???engagement??? in a research institution???? and ???personal information management.??? It presents findings from a qualitative study of information behaviors in a population of scientists and clinicians that seeks to understand how the respondents search for information, what sources of information they use, and what decisions they make around the management of their information resources. It is specifically a project that exemplifies the iConference review criterion on ???multi- (or inter- or cross-) disciplinarity??? in both its research team and its subject participants. It also speaks to the iConference review criterion of ???addressing ways in which scholarly work and educational activities can connect to constituencies beyond the iSchool community.??? The poster reports on work currently underway by an interdisciplinary team of investigators who are studying collaboration behaviors among personnel in a large multi-disciplinary clinical research environment, as part of an NIH-funded initiative in translational research. This poster is a by-product of the larger work; the larger work is focussed on two main research questions: what are the key social issues that researchers face when attempting to form collaborations and how do they currently solve these problems

Alternative Approaches to Educating Medical Informationists

Because the information world of medical professionals is complex and ever-expanding, a new set of information professionals is needed to serve as a liaison between that world of information and the world of medicine. Davidoff and Florance [1] raised many of these issues when they proposed the concept of the ???informationist??? ??? someone who possesses both clinical knowledge and information retrieval skills and expertise. The Institute of Medicine [7] also underscored the need for evidence-based information in the reduction of errors and the delivery of quality care, and identified the need for more training of clinicians in informatics skills and knowledge. Several alternative approaches to educating medical informationists have been proposed and/or field tested. One approach is to train librarians to become informationists. To illustrate this approach, Detlefsen [2] presented a case study of someone with an MLIS degree who uses Vanderbilt???s on-the-job training program to gain additional medical expertise and move into an informationist position in an academic setting. She also encourages medical librarians to consider augmenting their training with a degree or certificate in medical informatics [3]. This is also the approach used at the NIH Library [8]. A second approach is to educate informationists through biomedical informatics programs like the one at the Oregon Health Sciences University [4]. A third approach is the AMIA 10x10 combination of a single course plus a one-day face-to-face session, covering a range of topics in medical informatics and related areas [6]. A fourth approach has been implemented through a dual degree program offered at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and Duke University [5]. In this program, medical students from Duke use their third year to complete the master???s degree in information science at UNC. During this roundtable discussion, proponents of these alternative approaches will be available to describe the advantages of the approach with which they???re most familiar, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. This roundtable will be of interest to all those involved in medical/health informatics education, or planning related programs. In this informal discussion setting, participants will be able to express their concerns and share their experiences