The CLIC-on-Health program, under the leadership of the Rochester Regional Library Council, has provided easily accessible, high quality health information to the people of Rochester for the past eight years. Click here to visit the CLIC-on-Health website.
Are you a senior who wants to find the latest information about treatments for arthritis? Are you a mom, trying to decide whether your child has the flu? Are you a public health nurse, looking for information about hospices, to give to your patient’s family? The librarians in the Rochester area have collaborated to provide CLIC-on-Health – http://cliconhealth.org- a “one stop shopping” portal to up-to-date, reliable health information. The websites available span from Medlineplus, the website sponsored by the National Library of Medicine, to GoAskAlice, a health website that speaks “in the language of teens.”
CLIConHealth also provides accessibility to special projects in the Rochester area, including an electronic packet for training seniors to search the web, and training materials for nurses.
Watch for our new website in March, 2010!
Our Steering Committee reflects the spirit of collaboration for better health information for library patrons:
Barbara Ciambor, Outreach Librarian, Rochester Regional Library Council
Betsy Gilbert, Director, Fairport Public Library
Joan Brown, School Library System Director, Monroe II BOCES
Mary Ann Howie, Stabins Wellness Center Librarian, Rochester General Health System
Pat Bernhard, Director, Henrietta Public Library
Ray Curtin, Director of Medical Library, Unity Health System
Alice Palokoff, Librarian, Wilson Magnet High School
Bernie Todd-Smith
Betsy Morris, Assistant Director, Pioneer Library System
Debby Emerson, Assistant Director, RRLC
Julie Sollenberger, Director, Miner Library at University of Rochester Medical Center
Kathy Miller, Director, RRLC
Marybeth Klofas, Head, Access Services; Nursing & Patient Outreach Coordinator, Miner Library at University of Rochester Medical Center
Pamela White, Community Outreach Librarian, Miner Library at University of Rochester Medical Center
CLIC-on-Health for Nurses Project
In January, 2009 the Rochester Regional Library Council was awarded a one year planning grant from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. The planning project, called "Getting the (Healthy) Word Out: A Train-the Trainer Approach for Nurses" will use RRLC's CLIC-on-Health web site to work with nursing educators and RNs in the Rochester area. The project will provide training in the use of online health information to nurses that do not have free access to these resources through an affiliation with a college, university or hospital in the five county Rochester area.
RRLC has "partnered" with five nursing agencies/school systems that employ RNs. These agency partners include Lifetime Care, the Visiting Nurse Service of Rochester, Monroe1 BOCES, Monroe2 Orleans BOCES and the Rochester City School District. Together these agencies employ more than four hundred RNs plus other health care professionals. An assessment of the information needs of the RNs working with these agencies was conducted in the form of an online survey. Questions were designed to determine the RNs level of awareness of free online health information, the type of information needed and the preferred method of training in learning how to locate and use the best clinical and consumer health information.
Nursing Agency Partners
Lifetime Care
Visiting Nurse Service of Rochester
Rochester City School District
Monroe1 BOCES
Monroe2 Orleans BOCES
School of Nursing Education Partners
Finger Lakes Community College
Monroe Community College
Nazareth College
Roberts Wesleyan College
Saint John Fisher College
SUNY College at Brockport
University of Rochester
A curriculum which includes a variety of nursing related websites has been developed, reflecting the needs of the RNs. The content has also been reviewed by the Nursing Planning Grant Curriculum Committee, made up of ten Rochester area librarians who work with nurses at hospitals, colleges offering programs of nursing education. Areas that are covered in the curriculum include disease and wellness, medication information, consumer health websites, information about how to obtain full text articles and how to use/access the collections of Rochester area libraries. These websites are included on the CLIC-on-Health Nursing Page, which will be used as a starting off point for training the RNs.
Nursing Planning Grant Curriculum Committee Members
Jennifer Smathers/SUNY Brockport
Jennifer Little/SUNY Brockport
Pam White/ University of Rochester
Mary Beth Klofas/University of Rochester
Michelle Price/St. John Fisher College
Pam Czaja/Monroe Community College
Linda Jones/Roberts Wesleyan College
Sarah Moon/Finger Lakes Community College
Jennifer Burr/Nazareth College
Lana Rudy/Rochester General Hospital
Among the authoritative national and state web sites that will be used in training are:
The project will also work with the librarians/faculty at the seven area colleges that prepare nursing students. Although nursing students do have access to the information resources at their academic institutions, this access may not continue after graduation. This project would provide an opportunity to work with the librarians and nurse educators that train the students, educating them about online health information available post-graduation.
CLIC-on-Health for Seniors Project
Overview
CLIC-on-Health for Seniors was a 2-year project, which began August 2005, funded by a grant from the National Library of Medicine, with a budget of $146,290. Its goal was to extend the reach of the ongoing CLIC-on-Health program by providing older adults in the Rochester region with easy access to trustworthy consumer health information on the Internet. Fifteen senior centers and living facilities, located in inner city, suburban, and rural settings, were selected for their interest and commitment to the program and to represent diverse senior populations. They were equipped with computers, Internet service, and assistive technology for those with visual impairment or limited dexterity. The project offered training on computer and Internet basics and online health information resources to seniors in small group sessions. Each senior site had a nearby public library partner, with the local librarians conducting classes for seniors and staff members and providing ongoing support.
Working with the Monroe County Office for the Aging, we identified a need for easy access to reliable health information for seniors in our community. Many senior organizations did not have computers for seniors to use or had old machines with no Internet service.
Primary Activities
This complex project included:
- Planning Session – “kickoff” to establish the senior site/library partnership and develop a schedule
- Computer Equipment – needs assessment followed by acquisition and installation of equipment
- Awareness/recruitment session – lighthearted presentation for seniors to build interest in the project and awareness of library services
- Training curriculum development – five one-hour sessions covering computer basics, Internet basics, and health information on the Internet, with emphasis on the CLIC-on-Health and MedlinePlus web sites, designed for older adult learners
- Train-the-trainer sessions for participating librarians – half day sessions for librarian trainers
- Training sessions for senior site staff members – to enable them to assist seniors on a day-to-day basis
- Training sessions for seniors –groups of two to five seniors held at the senior site or library
- Follow-up training session – “graduation” session for celebration, review, assistance, and evaluation purposes
- Seniors section of the CLIC-on-Health website – www.cliconhealth.org – to meet specific needs of seniors using input from senior focus groups
- Publicity: press releases, flyers, and other publicity specific to each location
- Program evaluation: surveys, pre and post tests, interview questionnaires, and website usage statistics
The anticipated outcomes were:
Seniors would know about three ways to obtain reliable health information:
- by using the CLIC-on-Health and MedlinePlus web sites themselves
- by asking staff members at the senior site to find online health information for them
- by using their local library
Seniors who took the computer classes would become comfortable using the computer and would increase their ability to use health information resources on the Internet,
The relationship between each senior site and its local library would continue and grow, providing easy access to library services for seniors.
Our surveys showed a dramatic increase in seniors’ awareness that libraries are an excellent place to go for health information. Interest in computer training was higher, with waiting lists for classes at many sites. The new computers drew a great deal of attention and served as a visual focal point.
Collaboration
CLIC-on-Health for Seniors Project broadened the collaborative efforts of the CLIC-on-Health parent program. The makeup of an Advisory Council to guide the project exemplified the breadth of this collaborative effort:
- Library directors from several participating public libraries
- A medical librarian/trainer
- Monroe County Office for the Aging liaison
- Health agency representative
- Technical services representative
- CLIC-on-Health Project Director and Assistant
- RRLC Assistant Director
Central to the CLIC-on-Health for Seniors Project was the concept of building sustainable, working partnerships between each of 15 senior sites and a nearby library. The local library took responsibility for conducting training sessions for seniors and promoting library usage. Publicity was a joint effort between project staff, the library, and senior site staff. Successful implementation was predicated on encouraging each senior site/library partnership to conduct the program in a way that works best for them. The CLIC-on-Health project staff coordinated efforts, offered help, and then stepped back to let the partnerships work independently.
Technical services partner, the Academy for Career Development, was an essential part of the team. At each site, they conducted a computer assessment, recommended equipment, acquired and installed hardware and software, and worked with the local IT staff. Because all senior sites considered the gift of computer equipment as an extremely attractive component of the project, their role was critical to the success of the project.
The lead agency for CLIC-on-Health is the RRLC, a nonprofit network of 450 libraries and library systems in the five-county Rochester, New York region. The RRLC’s mission is to facilitate and enhance cooperation, service delivery, and resource sharing among its members in order to improve information access for the people of the Rochester region and beyond.
Sharing our Experience
The CLIC-on-Health for Seniors Project was an excellent model for replication by public and medical libraries in any location and on any scale. Across the country, the senior population is burgeoning; every community has organizations that serve seniors. These organizations are hungry for programs that help their members and residents stay active and involved. Health is a topic of great interest to most seniors and generally they lack the knowledge of where to find reliable health information and/or the computer competency to find such information.
The CLIC-on-Health project staff is happy to share our experiences in implementing this project to those interested in undertaking a similar program. We can provide lessons learned, training curriculum and materials, and evaluation reports.