Focused Health Information Outreach
The NN/LM New England Region engages communities in a focused health information outreach initiative in two geographic areas each year, one rural and one urban.
Current and past geographic areas for Focused Health Information Outreach include:
- Pilot Year: The Western Health District in Maine and Providence, Rhode Island [Final Report]
- Year One: The Downeast District Maine and Holyoke, Massachusetts [Final Report]
- Year Two: Northern Worcester County (CHNA District 9) and Hartford, Connecticut
| Focused health information outreach brings the resources of the NN/LM upon a community in order to conduct a systematic approach of identifying health agencies, pursue contacts, and develop relationships with key leaders. The goal is to assess health information use patterns, promote resources, and conduct training for health and human service agency staff. Focused outreach will provide sustained support for a selected community identified as medically underserved, facing health care access issues, or economically disadvantaged. The project also provides for the opportunity to evaluate the health information intervention in terms of the impact of the resources upon attendees and their use of NLM resources. |
Our Current Focused Outreach Model
Develop and conduct a systematic approach to connecting with community-based organizations and other agencies that serve NLM targeted populations.
- Inventory past outreach activities conducted, identifying agencies that have been served.
- Identify key health care organizations serving the community and providing health education and human services in the areas.
- Develop partnerships with individuals identified by key organizations to support focused outreach efforts in the community.
- Conduct key informant interviews as part of a community needs assessment.
Conduct point of need trainings for providers and constituents at health centers and related agencies in the targeted area.
- Work with local individuals and organizations, to identify opportunities for health information outreach trainings and events.
Develop comprehensive evaluation plan using methods utilized by the NLM Outreach and Evaluation Resource Center (OERC).
- Develop outcomes assessment with identified indicators and a detailed plan of action to include data sources, evaluation methods, and data collection timeline.
- Develop process assessment plan to determine how well the focused outreach project is implemented and barriers encountered.
- Design data collection tools including a pre-/post project community assessment, pre-/post-project key informant interview protocol, pre-/post outreach evaluation.
