Title: Rethinking Venues for Consumer Health Information: Offering Access and Instruction at a Women’s Fitness Center
Objective: To conduct a pilot project for making reliable consumer health information (CHI) available to the all-female population at a fitness center and teaching fitness center participants how to find CHI information.
Methods: With funding from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region, a computer and printer were placed at a Curves franchise with female members only. A train-the-trainer session was conducted by librarians for the Curves staff on how to find reliable CHI through MedlinePlus and the library’s website healthelinks, including its newly developed women’s health page. Staff members were also shown how to access the mobile version of MedlinePlus. Healthelinks key tags and brochures were distributed so that members could take home access information for locating CHI on their personal computers and mobile devices. Publicity to members included a promotional poster and flyers. Evaluations were collected for the instructional sessions, and a computer usage log was maintained for one month.
Results: Unfortunately, the partnering Curves franchise closed. However, the project was able to continue at a different Curves location, where another train-the-trainer session was held. Evaluations of training sessions at both locations were very positive. The number of entries on the usage log at the first location was disappointing, although entries indicated that users who had recorded their searches did indeed find the information they were seeking. At the second location, the number of key tags distributed was tracked instead of keeping a usage log. In less than a month, eighty-seven key tags were handed out.
Conclusions: Anecdotal reports from the owners at both locations indicated that members were unaware of healthelinks and MedlinePlus prior to being introduced to them at Curves, that they found these resources easy to use, and that they were successful in finding and printing information on a variety of health topics.
Authors: Dixie A. Jones, AHIP, Associate Director; Talicia Tarver, Digital and Information Services Librarian; Mararia Adams, Assistant Director and Head, Systems; Montie' Dobbins, AHIP, Head, User Access Services; Mark Baggett, Assistant Systems Librarian; Medical Library; Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA
