Focused Outreach Final Report: Downeast District, Maine and Holyoke, Massachusetts, (May 1, 2011 - April 30, 2012)

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region developed a new model for outreach to reach special populations, respond to health disparities in New England, and track results of health information outreach. The Focused Outreach model is carried out in three phases: community assessment through Key Informant Interviews; implementation through training, exhibits and funding; and evaluation. Specific geographic areas in New England; one urban, one rural; were selected based on health disparities; socioeconomic need; and access to health information. For year one (May 1, 2011 – May 1, 2012), NER selected Holyoke, Massachusetts and the Downeast Public Health District in Maine. Evaluation was central to the project. Pre/post and follow-up evaluations were used for training sessions. By capturing feedback before, immediately after, and a few weeks following training sessions, NN/LM NER demonstrated the effectiveness of trainings to get participants to use MedlinePlus.gov and to tell their colleagues, family and friends about MedlinePlus. Results from trainings for health information providers showed that 91.3% were very likely to use MedlinePlus in the future; and 83.3% of participants told others about the Web sites taught in the class. 93% of health information provider participants said the class improved their ability to find information they could trust on the internet

Health Literacy Introduction

This Health Literacy Introduction is a brief overview of solutions and techniques to support health literacy. Discover practical solutions to support health literacy and resources to learn more, raise awareness, and act now to improve health literacy

Empowering Health Information Outreach in New England

The NN/LM empowers change through health information access by raising awareness about National Library of Medicine (NLM) resources such as MedlinePlus.gov and PubMed.gov. Methods to empower change through health information access include training, funding and exhibiting for librarians, health professionals, community based organizations and consumers. Reaching health science librarians and health care professionals with the latest advancements in health information results in better patient care and supports translational research. By increasing access to health information for underserved populations and communities, the NN/LM is a catalyst for change and helps to bridge the digital divide and contribute to health literacy. This poster highlights specific cases of health information outreach by the NN/LM – New England Region. Presented at the North Atlantic Health Sciences Libraries (NAHSL) Annual Meeting, Rockport, ME, October 2009

NN/LM NER Healthy Community, Community of Interest Final Report (May 1, 2011 - April 30, 2013)

The NN/LM New England Region’s Communities of Interest (COI) foster emerging roles for librarians in dynamic themes in the provision of health information. Members of Communities of Interests share ideas, knowledge, and experiences to help each other improve their library’s services. The Communities of Interest focus on six themes: eScience, Healthcare Workforce, Health Literacy, Healthy Communities, HealthIT, and Knowledge Management. These themes were identified by the NN/LM New England Region at a Town Hall Meeting as priorities for professional development and collaboration. The Communities of Interest host e-learning programs to keep Network Members up-to-date with trends in the profession. The Healthy Communities COI explores issues related to health information and education outreach to the public in general as well as underserved populations. Topics include planning, implementing, and evaluating community outreach activities, communicating health information to patients and the public, and contributing to your institution to provide community benefit. The COI’s are facilitated by NER staff and led by a Network Member. The Healthy Communities COI is facilitated by Michelle Eberle, Consumer Health Information Coordinator, and led by Deborah Clark, Librarian at Stephens Memorial Hospital. Deborah served as the Leader for Year One and Two. This report summarizes activities from the Community of Interest\u27s first two year

Health Information Literacy Outreach: Meeting the Needs of the Latino Community in Providence, Rhode Island and Rural Seniors in Western Maine

Purpose: To guide decisions related to a new approach to health information outreach and set in motion partnerships with community-based organizations and agencies. Audience: Providence Rhode Island’s Latino community and rural residents in the Western Maine Health District (Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford counties). Methodology: Social Cognitive Theory informed the development of a semi-structured key informant interview protocol. Questions were designed to determine confidence in using the Internet to find health information and the availability community resources that support access to computers and the Internet, including possible role models. Interviews were conducted in person and at a time and place convenient to the interviewee. All questions were open-ended, followed by probes to elicit greater detail. Interview data were coded and organized into major themes and sub-themes. It is within the sub-themes and direct quotes that patterns emerge. Results: Nine key informants, service providers in CBOs, libraries, and schools were interviewed in Western Maine. Data were organized into six major themes and 24 sub-themes. From these data we learned that communities in Western Maine have a growing senior population and that community-based organizations are important to supporting public health efforts. Health topics of concern include chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and cancer. The public school system, adult education programs, and public libraries offer access to computers, and opportunities for training and support. Ten key informants, service providers in CBOs, libraries, and health care were interviewed in Providence, Rhode Island. Data were organized into six major themes and 23 sub-themes. From these data we learned that Latinos in this community begin looking for health information by asking the people they know and trust. Health topics of concern include issues related to health insurance and access to care, chronic diseases like diabetes, and family and childhood health and that the radio is an important source of health information. Adult education programs, public libraries, and a network of minority health centers offer access to computers, and opportunities for training and support. These findings led the NN/LM – NER to tailor their health information outreach efforts in Western Maine to seniors and to work with public health coalitions and agencies directly serving seniors to increase awareness and use of NIHSeniorHealth. In Providence, Rhode Island these findings led us to develop a train-the-trainer health information outreach model working with foreign trained health professionals to teach others in the community about reliable health information resources including MedlinePlus in Spanish and to work with local radio. Discussion: An intensive community assessment effort is critical to developing a focused health information literacy outreach program. These data and the process of gathering these data helped the program tailor efforts to meet the needs of the community and identified community leaders, local organizations, and other potential partners to improve community access to reliable health information. While the results of this community assessment are not generalizable, the approach provides a much needed practical understanding of the community and how best to address the needs and utilize available resources. Presented at the Institute for Healthcare Advancement\u27s Health Literacy Conference, Irvine, California, May 5, 2011

Know Your Chances: Understanding Health Statistics Book Discussion Final Report

The Know Your Chances: Understanding Health Statistics Book Discussion Project evolved from a webinar held by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine New England Region’s (NN/LM NER) on March 4, 2014. Following the webinar, Margot Malachowski, NER’s Healthy Communities COI (Community of Interest) Leader, shared a vision for a book discussion group project. In June 2014, the NN/LM NER Healthy Communities, Community of Interest (COI) invited network members to apply to participate in a health statistics book discussion project. The nine libraries and organizations selected to participate were required to: host and lead a book discussion at least once; attend planning teleconferences, and provide a brief post-project report to share their experiences. Participants were asked to select an audience for a book discussion, ideally public libraries, high school students, health professions students, caregivers, teachers, support groups or patient educators. Project participants lead book discussions that helped consumers learn how to calculate risk, put risk in perspective, and develop a healthy skepticism. Know Your Chances is a quick read and is freely available online on the PubMed Health bookshelf at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0050876

Focused Outreach Final Report: Vermont (May 1, 2013 - April 30, 2014)

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region (NN/LM NER) seeks to further the mission of the NN/LM, while increasing use of National Library of Medicine (http://nlm.nih.gov) resources and services; and expanding collaboration with libraries through a Focused Health Information Outreach model. The mission of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) is to advance the progress of medicine and improve the public health by providing all U.S. health professionals equal access to biomedical information and by improving the public\u27s access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health. The Focused Outreach Project connected underserved communities in Vermont with the resources and services of the National Library of Medicine. NER partnered with local libraries, public health agencies, school nurses, the state library, health education students, and community television. This year, the project transitioned to a train-the-trainer model. Project partners were identified following the Key Informant Interviews. NER staff worked with project partners to guide them through the project planning, proposal writing process, and initial NLM education. Project partners included: Vermont State Library Dana Medical Library Middlebury Community TV Vermont Agency of Education Castleton State College Heath Education Department Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital Medical Library Vermont School Nurse Health Information Access Project Pre and post-evaluations showed that as a result of this project: 92 consumers learned about MedlinePlus 220 health information providers learned about MedlinePlus 325 visitors at exhibits/health fairs learned more about the National Library of Medicine Consumer post-evaluations showed that 79% reported that the trainings improved their ability to find information they could trust on the internetl: 64%were likely to use MedlinePlus in the future. Provider post-evaluations showed that 97% said the class improved their ability to find information they could trust on the internet; 100% were likely to use MedlinePlus in the future; and 62% were very likely to tell others about the NLM resources they learned

Focused Outreach Final Report: Hartford, Connecticut and North Central Massachsuetts (May 1, 2012 - April 30, 2013)

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region (NN/LM NER) at the University of Massachusetts Medical seeks to further the mission of the NN/LM, while raising awareness, use and knowledge of National Library of Medicine (http://nlm.nih.gov) resources and services; and increasing collaboration with libraries through a Focused Health Information Outreach model. Focused Health Information Outreach targets specific geographic areas in New England facing high rates of health disparities, socioeconomic challenges, and health care shortages. NER reaches out to libraries, public health agencies, schools, and other stakeholders in the provision of health information to connect them with the NLM. This project summary highlights accomplishments of the NER\u27s third cycle (Year 2) of Focused Outreach. Geographic areas for year 2 included Hartford, Connecticut and North Central Massachusetts

Focused Outreach Final Report: New Hampshire (May 1, 2014 - April 30, 2015)

The Focused Outreach Project connected underserved communities in New Hampshire with the resources and services of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region (NN/LM NER) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). NER identified project partners following key informant interviews. NER staff worked with project partners to guide them through the funding process, provided initial training on National Library of Medicine resources, and ensured the projects fulfilled goals and objectives as identified in their proposals. Project partners included: City of Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services City of Nashua, Office of Emergency Management Concord Public Library New Hampshire Area Health Education Centers New Hampshire Community College Librarians and Nursing Educators New Hampshire Comprehensive Cancer Collaboration New Hampshire State Library NER conducted a state-wide membership drive. NER provided the New Hampshire State Library with membership packets to mail to libraries in New Hampshire that were not already NN/LM Network Members. As a result of the membership drive, 29 libraries joined the network. NER developed relationships with seven new project partners. Each project partner used their own evaluation methods. Several project partners shared the value of their experience partnering with NN/LM NER in their reports and publications: “These activities served to significantly increase awareness of the multitude of reliable NN/LM resources and tools available that can help guide the development of evidence-based strategies for those developing Health Plans, provide information for professionals about clinical trials, improve knowledge of how to conduct PubMed searches, refer patients and families to MedlinePlus, and learn about the PHPartners.org resources that will ultimately provide better outcomes for patients.” -Judy Proctor, New Hampshire Comprehensive Cancer Plan, Foundation for Healthy Communities, Final Report “Janet Eklund, administrator of library operations at New Hampshire State Library, says the most important outcome to emerge from the project is the education of librarians and their confidence providing consumer health information. “Now, of course, they’re not going to be providing medical advice, but they’re comfortable in using the resource so that they can help educate their patrons to use it themselves,” Eklund says. “I think an increase in comfort level, knowledge, and skill is an excellent outcome for a program like this.” – By Lea Radick, American Libraries Magazine, Nov/Dec 2015 “Our partnership with the National Network of Libraries of Medicine began before our Focused Outreach project through participation in an Extreme Weather Summit hosted by their team. At the summit they convinced my Office of the importance of partnering with libraries to promote health and emergency preparedness initiatives. With the support of NN/LM, we were successfully able to conduct an outreach project to promote preparedness to at-risk populations within our region with excellent technical assistance provided by our library.” - Justin Kates, Director of Emergency Management, City of Nashu

Libraries in New England Working to Develop Healthy Communities and Increase Health Literacy

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region, created Communities of Interests (COIs) for our network members to come together to learn more about health literacy and be a part of cultivating healthy communities. Each Community of Interest offers an e-newsletter and hosts webinars with presentations by experts in health literacy and creating healthy communities. Topics for programs this year included: 10 Easy Ways You Can Contribute to Health Literacy; How to Contribute to Community Benefit at Your Hospital; a MedlinePlus.gov Train-the-Trainer; Clever Evaluation; and a program day on Health Information Equity. Each COI conducted needs assessment at the beginning of the year. An assessment will be conducted at the end of the first year to identify: knowledge gained; how the new information was put into action; and new educational needs. NN/LM NER Community of Interests create a powerful way to bring librarians together who are interested to increase health literacy and contribute to healthy communities