Access to Health Information for Arizona's Tribal Nations
PSRML has awarded funding to the Arizona Health Sciences Library (AHSL), University of Arizona, Tucson, to conduct an outreach project, Access to Health Information for Arizona's Tribal Nations. This two-year (July 2002 - June 2004), $50,000 project will begin with a six-month planning phase, followed by implementation of a project or projects based on the planning outcomes. The goals of this project are to improve access to health information resources for Native Americans in Arizona, and to develop sustainable, working partnerships between the Arizona Health Sciences Library (NN/LM resource library for Arizona), tribal representatives, and other organizations to be identified in the project planning phase, such as public and academic libraries, health care institutions, and other groups and departments in the University of Arizona and at the Reservations.
The objectives and outcomes of the planning portion of the project are to:
- Identify current activities related to the delivery of health information to Native American populations in Arizona.
- Identify and make contact with tribal stakeholders, and others involved in addressing the health needs of Native Americans in Arizona.
- Monitor and participate as appropriate in the Tribal Connections Project operated by the Pacific Northwest Region (PNR), NN/LM, in the Four Corners area.
- Develop a plan for improving access to health information for Native American health care practitioners and/or consumers for an identified region of the state.
- Explore the option of significant ongoing collaborations with potential partners in delivering services to this special population, such as University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science, Area Health Education Centers, Arizona Health Information Network, and the Arizona Telemedicine Program.
AHSL and PSRML anticipate that components of an implementation project may include:
- Identification of current activities related to the delivery of health information to Native American populations in Arizona.
- Training of health practitioners and/or consumers in the products of the National Library of Medicine (PubMed, MEDLINEplus, etc.).
- Training of high school students (or their teachers) in the products of the National Library of Medicine (PubMed, MEDLINEplus, etc.).
- Collaboration with and/or training of public librarians.
- Collaboration with and/or training of college librarians at Native American colleges, or community colleges that serve significant Native American populations.
- Expansion of the CHILE project to include specific resources for Native Americans.
- An 18-month trial membership in AZHIN for health care institutions (hospitals, health departments, clinics, etc.) not currently members, if appropriate.
- A research component which will measure the success of the effort and provide useful information to others involved in working with Native American populations.
There are 21 tribal nations in Arizona. They comprise 27% of the total land area of the state and in Pima County (where Tucson is located) the tribal nations make up 47% of the land. Although some tribes are in or near urban centers, most are located in isolated, rural areas. Reservations are spread across the state in non-contiguous spaces (http://www.indianaffairs.state.az.us/tribes/map.html). Additionally, many Native Americans do not live on the reservations but in urban areas. Individual tribes can have unique cultural norms, different tribal governance structure, varying standards of living and differing ability to reach the Internet. For this reason a "one size fits all" approach will not be successful in reaching Native Americans.
The Arizona Health Sciences Library is Arizona's largest and most comprehensive health sciences library, providing access to current knowledge-based biomedical information for students and faculty of the University of Arizona, and to health care providers and consumers statewide. For over 30 years, outreach to Arizona's health care professionals and residents has been an important aspect of AHSL's public service mission to the state. AHSL intends to forge and maintain long-term relationships with Native Americans in Arizona, following the collaborative model of tribes as partners in providing resources and services that meet their needs.
The NN/LM currently has funding available for outreach projects. See PSRML Express Outreach Awards available at http://nnlm.gov/psr/outreach_award_info.html and the NN/LM RFP, Access to Electronic Health Information, available at http://nnlm.gov/projects/funding/aehi_rfp2002/. - EG
[Editor's Note: Portions of this announcement were drawn from the AHSL outreach project proposal.]