A Solution in Sight: South-South and South-North Collaboration to Improve Access to the World’s Ophthalmic Information
3:05 PM - 3:25 PM
Objective: To enhance the ability of staff of eight developing-country ophthalmic resource centers (RCs) to make medical, scientific, and technical information available to health care workers in order to improve training, research, and care locally, regionally, and globally; to reduce isolation of center staff by creating an international network for mentoring, training, and problem solving.
Methods: The Association of Vision Science Librarians (AVSL), partnering with the Seva Foundation, is strengthening ophthalmic RCs at eye care institutions in developing countries. This project builds a learning community among the participating RC staff and their advisors and in the international vision librarian network. The collaboration uses teleconferences, videoconferences, working group meetings online and in person, and visits by experienced RC librarians and advisors to implement the strategic plans developed by each resource center. Our goals are to support development of the RCs and increase the knowledge and skills of center staff. This will enable them to increase effectiveness of medical care, education, and research at their institutions; provide education and training for their institutions’ staff and trainees in the use of online and print resources; and work with them to understand evidence-based health care principles and resources.
Results: An initial conference of veteran and newer members of AVSL from both south and north, other RC staff, and consultants from foundations, Google, and international centers promoting eye care in developing countries was followed by a second, organized by an RC librarian for RC librarians in Nepal. Descriptions of the program have been presented at international ophthalmology and medical librarianship conferences. A mentorship relationship has resulted in a paper in a MEDLINE-indexed ophthalmology journal. Several North America-based AVSL members are beginning mentoring relationships with RC librarians. But funding is difficult: The work is supported by funds squeezed from already-tight library budgets, and plans for additional meetings are tentative.
Conclusions: Collaborations between south and north do lead directly to those between south and south. The challenges are to demonstrate effectiveness of the collaborations, and of the resource centers, and to secure funding to continue to improve and expand the network.
Authors: Pamela C. Sieving, AHIP, Biomedical Librarian/Informationist, NIH Library, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; Bette Anton, Head Librarian, Fong Optometry and Health Sciences Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA; Suzanne S. Gilbert, Director, Center for Innovation in Eye Care, Seva Foundation, Berkeley, CA
The Frontera Collaboration: Promoting Evidence-based Practice in the US-Mexico Border Region
3:25 PM - 3:45 PM
Objective: This presentation provides an update on the Frontera Collaboration, a partnership of health sciences libraries in US-Mexico border states. The goal of the Frontera Collaboration is to increase cooperative efforts among health sciences libraries aimed at improving clinical care and public health in the border region.
Methods: In their initial eighteen months, the Frontera Collaboration libraries focused on three specific objectives: (1) conduct assessments of needs and resources related to promoting evidence-based practice in the border region; (2) perform a limited number of outreach activities aimed at border clinicians and public health personnel, including conference exhibits and pilot training events that rely on collaboratively developed instructional resources; and (3) develop a strategic plan for continued collaboration in the 2011-2014 timeframe. Biweekly teleconferences and annual in-person meetings have enabled Frontera library representatives to work together on collaborative tasks and to discuss challenges and opportunities in their local border communities.
Results: Through their participation in the Frontera Collaboration, health sciences libraries serving the border region have made several accomplishments in an eighteen-month timeframe. One of their principal accomplishments was an assessment of learning needs related to evidence-based practice among convenience samples of clinicians and public health personnel. This assessment explored perceptions of evidence-based practice, and findings suggest a disparity between self-reported reliance on evidence-based practice and use of information resources. The Frontera Collaboration libraries have also developed asset maps of information resources and services available to clinicians and public health personnel in the border region. This collaboration has also resulted in the development of training materials that have been pilot-tested in a limited number of outreach events.
Conclusions: The experience of working together as part of the Frontera Collaboration’s initial period of performance has laid a foundation for ongoing collaborative efforts among health sciences libraries serving the border region.
Authors: Keith Cogdill, AHIP, Director, South Texas Regional Information Services, Health Science Center, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX; Kathleen Carter, Librarian; Graciela Reyna, Assistant Director, Ramirez Library, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX; Lorely Ambriz, Knowledge Management and Communication Advisor, Knowledge Management and Communication Center, Pan American Health Organization US-Mexico Border Office, El Paso, TX; Barbara Nail-Chiwetalu, Distance Services Coordinator; Patricia Bradley, AHIP, Native Services Librarian, Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM; Brooke Billman, AHIP, AZHIN Librarian; Yamila El-Khayat, Interim Outreach Services Librarian; Annabelle Nunez, Information Services Librarian; Jeanette Ryan, Deputy Director, Arizona Health Sciences Library, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; Brett Kirkpatrick, Associate Vice President, Academic Resources, and Director, Libraries; Julie Trumble, Head, Reference and Educational Services; Moody Medical Library; University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
Supporting Evidence-based Medicine Training and Implementation in Haiti
3:45 PM - 4:05 PM
Description: Due to both a long-standing presence and geographic proximity, the University of Miami clinicians were some of the first responders in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake. To support the immediate and varied needs of these responders, the Calder librarians created a website gathering both freely available and commercially licensed material most relevant to the first responders and donated two boxes of core medical textbooks. The Calder Library then received an Express Disaster Recovery Award from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), Southeastern/Atlantic Regional Library, to bring laptops and other technical support to the University of Miami medical tent and the long-standing training of Haitian physicians and nurses. This award led to an invitation to join a University of Miami field visit to Haiti to observe firsthand the work there and implement a needs assessment of the University of Miami affiliates onsite as well as the Haitian medical students and nurses in training. This presentation will also discuss the Emergency Access Initiative and its first implementation in Haiti, in addition to the planning process, necessary troubleshooting, and the challenges of working in both a disaster setting and a developing country.
Author: Emily J. Vardell, Director, Reference, Education, and Community Engagement, Louis Calder Memorial Library, School of Medicine, University of Miami Miller, Miami, FL
A Passage to Armenia: Medical Librarians as International Fulbright Specialists
4:05 PM - 4:25 PM
Description: A Yerevan State Medical University dean and surgeon issued the formal invitation from his school. Prior to curriculum development, Armenian medical librarians received an online survey to assess their digital library competence. An original instructional workbook was used with two student tracks, one using an Armenian translator and the other competent with English. Besides two weeks of scheduled training, a variety of international exchange and cultural activities took place.
Author: Charles J. Greenberg, Coordinator, Curriculum and Research Support, Program Development and Research, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT
