Evidence shows that there are marked health disparities between those living in rural areas versus their urban counterparts. Not only do rural residents suffer from higher incidence of chronic illness, they also have limited access to primary care services and are more likely to be uninsured or under-insured. In addition, these communities face greater limitations in information access.

This session describes hallmarks of rural America, identifies information access challenges of rural living, and equips participants with tools to serve health information needs of those living in rural communities. Our focus will be on freely available, advertisement-free websites and apps developed by the National Library of Medicine.

The session will begin with a slide presentation, and conclude with an opportunity to download or bookmark relevant websites and apps to mobile devices. The session will include a discussion on potential community partners, and the role of public libraries as often the sole source of freely available internet access in rural communities. The presenter will provide contact information for follow-up staff training and support.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify health information needs specific to rural communities
• Become familiar with resources to address rural health information needs.
• Identify potential community partners in rural communities.

Please bring a laptop or tablet for a hands-on activity.

Attendees will receive 2 Medical Library Association CE credits that can be applied towards the Medical Library Association Consumer Health Information Specialization.

About the Presenter:

Margot Malachowski is an Education and Outreach Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) in the New England Region. The mission of NNLM is to improve access to quality biomedical information. Margot provides information-seeking training to librarians, educators, healthcare providers, and public health staff. Prior to working with NNLM, Margot was a medical librarian at Baystate Health, an integrated health care system in Springfield, MA. In her outreach efforts, Margot developed partnerships with public libraries, senior centers, adult literacy programs and public health organizations. She worked in public libraries from 1996-2008. Margot writes and presents on health literacy, affordable care, and integrative medicine.  

Snow date is scheduled for Thursday, January 31, 2019.