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With the trend in medical library outreach of working with patient and consumer groups, librarians may need to consider some of the ways in which this outreach is different from working with our academic clientele. In our outreach programs at the Lamar Soutter Library, we have worked with groups of HIV/AIDS and psychiatric patients. We also provide point-of-care reference services in our affiliated Children's Medical Center. The lessons we have learned can be applied to other groups.

Medication Issues: One of our HIV/AIDS patients remarked after our first class that he had taken his meds right before class, which made him really drowsy for about an hour - exactly the length of our class! For subsequent classes, we were able to adjust our schedules so he was more alert and able to participate. This is an important lesson for librarians working with patient groups. Consider your population and ask the coordinator before you set up a class if there may be any medication side effect issues that could interfere with the class. If you have the ability to schedule your class around this, that may be the best option.

Psychiatric Patients: The coordinator for one of our groups of psychiatric patients asked that we stay away from the portion of the class on finding Internet Health Information because she was worried that teaching this skill to this patient group could bring counter-therapeutic results. When working with psychiatric patients, this is a very important consideration. For most patients, the ability to find information about their condition is empowering and positive; however, for this group that may not always be the case. Check with their coordinators and/or clinicians as to any issues that should be avoided or discussed more carefully. Another issue we have had with this population is that a health information kiosk placed in the waiting area of the outpatient psychiatric clinic is vandalized regularly. The director of the clinic pointed out that the kiosk is placed where it is not visible from the reception desk, and the clinic sees a lot of patients with aggression issues. Any unattended point of care information or equipment should be placed where the receptionist or other clinic staff can see it.

Sensitive Questions: Even the best preparation may not be enough for some of the questions class participants may ask. One of our HIV/AIDS patients was very interested in learning the scientific reasons for the safe sex recommendations. Uncomfortable as this topic was, the underlying question was valid, and the answers we found in PubMed may have prevented him from spreading this disease. Librarians should keep in mind that questions like this may come up, and we must be prepared to answer them in an objective and non-judgmental way.

Keeping these issues in mind will enhance your outreach efforts and make your classes for these groups run more smoothly.

Barbara Winrich, Assistant Director, UMASS Healthnet