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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Ming Sun, MPH, CHES1, Ann-Marie Duffy, MPH1, and Elizabeth Schneider, MLS, AHIP2. (1) Massachusetts General Hospital, Community Health Associates, 300 Ocean Avenue, 5th Floor, Revere, MA 02151, 781-485-6400, msun@partners.org, (2) Treadwell Library, Massachusetts General Hospital, Barlett Hall Exit -1, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114
Access to Resources for Community Health (ARCH), an on-line health information and resource center (funded by the National Library of Medicine) was established in December 2000 to improve access, particularly electronic access to high-quality health information and resources in four underserved communities north of Boston. The Massachusetts General Hospital operates community health centers in each of these four communities. An innovative website (www.arch-mgh.org) linked to pre-selected health information on the Internet has been created to protect users of the ARCH website against low-quality information. Subsequently, ARCH has provided training for community residents and professionals including providers working at MGH health centers to gain skills in using the site effectively.
The four communities (Charlestown, Chelsea, Everett, and Revere) are home to approximately 140,000 residents, many of whom are immigrants and live below the federal poverty lines. Lack of access to high-quality health information and resources was identified as a barrier to making sound healthcare decisions in these communities. Increasing community access to information on wellness, disease prevention and management is key to an overall improvement in the health status of a community.
ARCH staff has introduced the website to and trained more than 300 individuals from these communities and the website has received nearly 4,000 hits within the first year of operation. Our preliminary evaluation shows that provision of access (space, computer, and online connectivity) and training (skills) is an effective strategy to address the issue of lack of access to high-quality health information in the target communities.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to
Keywords: Community Health, Internet
Related Web page: www.arch-mgh.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.