Online Program

287741
Lessons learned from the national library of medicine AIDS community information outreach program


Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Gale Dutcher, MLS, Division of Specialized Information Services, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD
Alla Keselman, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD
Nicole Dancy, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD
Elliot Siegel, Siegel Consulting, Bethesda, MD
ISSUES: While providing affected communities with meaningful health information is an essential constant in the battle against HIV/AIDS, the specific information needs are evolving. HIV infection is now a chronic condition; also, the US demographics of the epidemic and patterns of information access have changed significantly. As a consequence, maintaining an effective information outreach program is a significant challenge. This presentation will review AIDS Community Information Outreach Program of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), which has been meeting this challenge since 1994.

DESCRIPTION: In 1994 NLM initiated a funding program to support efforts of community-based organizations to improve access to HIV/AIDS-related information for the affected community. The program supports:

•Improving organizational/community access to electronic information •Providing information access skills training •Developing specific educational materials •Providing access to HIV/AIDS-related documents

Close to 300 projects, most by community-based organizations, have received competitive funding. To validate the program's approach in the face of changing epidemic, NLM recently undertook a systematic assessment of a retrospective and purposive sample of projects and conducted a panel review with a number of awardees.

LESSONS LEARNED: The program has been successful in reaching low-resource community organizations serving high-risk populations. Repurposing NLM information to meet local needs is an important feature that awardees find particularly useful. Despite many changes in the HIV/AIDS landscape, the information disparities and the need for information outreach still exist.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The program is satisfying an important need and should be continued with some adjustments that reflect changes in HIV/AIDS demographics, treatment and prevention.

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
Assess the impact of changes in the HIV/AIDS epidemic on health information needs of affected communities and community organizations. Formulate a community-based approach in meeting information needs of high-risk populations and organizations that serve them. Analyze a long-standing national program that enables HIV/AIDS health information outreach to local underserved communities.

Keyword(s): HIV/AIDS, Health Information

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered